PJtQMICTIGSi TECHNIQUES OF «fW HEW SHAGICR&FT"

AS UTILIZED BY EUGENE O'NEILL

APPROVED:

Major Protestor

Minor Professor

AUv'yi,^j?A L / Bireeto|K^£ the Department o£ Speech aridDrama

DeeS' of:' the' Graduate ' School

PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES OF NSW

AT IITB.I&© BY WSMM& Q'NEILi,

THESIS

Presented to tim Graduate Cootie*! of the

Korth Teatas State University in Partiel

Fulfillment of th© Re<pira©©»fc#

For tlm Degree of

MASTER OF JkWm

By

John W, Wilton, Jr., B«A,

Donton, Toxst

August, 1966

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page

i, xmnoDocxm . i

thm mm stagecra£t In America

« * w s&k ytfc dm ajjin iMiiitt i* littifc iiHt m it' 1*1 mmm ^ ******

II# O'llKXU* AMD EXPRESSIONISM......•••••••••....... 32

Accent as vi»ual kacfegrmisut S«fc d«»lgn Sound •fleets Costow

XII* S Y M M M M AMD OTHER STXUBB . 59

Aefcor# ft* visual background 8«t diiiffi Souad «!c«at» Costume

IV. OOKCUJBI0H 7f

BOLXOGlAfH* . . 95

emrrEt i

wmmaim TECHNIQUES of **xm M W smeicaAfT"

AS UTILISED BY MIGME Q'WSEJL

Introduction

Kugene O'Neill, a playwright of nany universally recog-

nlsed tecoavl iilmmti , has been credited with being the American

playwright who isade a significant adaptation of Attic tragedy

for the contemporary stage* Among his credits also is the title

of escperimentar. He is counted among those dramatists and men

of the theatre who introduced to the American stage the "new

stagecraft", a tern applied to this newest aspects of production

in the European theatres at the torn of the century* His promi-

nent position among America's forenost literary figures has

c&med mch consideration of his taints as a writer# His

knowledge of the theatre, however, goes beyond playwxriting*

Sugene O'Keill made several experiments in his plays nhich show

influence of the a w stagecraft, these experiments were not

limited to plot development, but were expressed by hia in the

suggestions he made for the productions of his plays* These

plays i » of the expressionistic and eyesfoolic styles.

They call for certain innovations which lispose particular

technical problems characteristic of the rmw stagecraft.

Therefore* an milyili of O'Neill's pltyt pertaining to the

technical problems involved mwld provide Insight into most

of the technique® connected with the wm stagecraft.

At this point lot us look further at the new stagecraft

and what it encompasses. By the early 1900'• David Belaeoo

had successfully established realism aa the losnosc artistic

presentation in the Aioeriean theatre, With such notenorthy

productions u t M d w Batt»rfl» (1900), and £&L s£ £iS.

Golden Hast (1905) , Belasco established the style of pre-

sentation which mm believable when compared with nature. The

style « M essentially naturalistic in concept, hut soon became

known m ^alaeeoimi11 since it became specifically American.

(The plays he produced wm primarily by American authors.)

ftealiam and naturalism mm not new forms of presentation.

Andre Antoine, Etalle Zola, Konetantin Stanislavsky and other

builders of realism Mid naturalism had established these form®

of presentation In European theatres some ten to fifteen years

prior to Beiaseoism. Realism deals with believable characters

In believable circumstances familiar to everyone, tealIsm

requires the minimum of dramatic conventions* Life is

represented in as m m y 'ways as fist stage will pewit#* On

the other hand, naturalism singles mt some deterministic

force at work in the live® of the characters, environmental

or psychological • 'Bet subject usually deals vith law life

In a low life situation* Whereas realism trie* to make stag®

conventions seeo life Ilk®,. naturalism brings the object

Cor even the parson]! , frora life outside the theatre to

tehe stage.2 la the cam® m y Balasco sought to bring life

as it really wis to tim stage, %ritti natursa b@ing mirrored in

acting and all tha visual aspects of production»3

Even though it w s d Belascoisii m a destined to reign

forever on tha Aaarican stags» it soon began to fade as the

primary mode of dramatic presentation, A mixture o£ many

elements,' experimentally brought together, fonmilated a

system o£ presentation which Hordacai Corelik comprehensively

calls '*fh© M m Stagecraft#" As naturaliso and realism ware-a

rebellion against romanticism, so the new stagecraft was a

rebellion against naturalism. Writers at the time the new

^Charles Edward Aughtry, Landmarks in Modem Drama* Prom Xfasen to lonesco (Boston, 1963), p. 3*

^Ibid.-

jWrdecai Corelik, New latjaig, iSJL 9M. (Hew York, 1962), pp. 162*163 and 174,

stagecraft w i evolving found It difficult to mm® the new

mommmZ, The confusion in mm* gives noes© Idea of the

diversity of elements within the new form. Symbolism,

expressionism, aeo*ramanticis»» theatricallam, all were

distinct currents within the ooveiaent, Ganeraily, the

tmm9 mm stagecraft, refer* to a systsn of production which

regarded the stage as * stage, recognised tilt presence of the

eudleaca, end deelt with the "inner feelings" of life rsther

than life itself.

4s mt have noted, the precepts of the a w stagecraft

imm fostered in Europe. imtnmit theatre men, including

Max Rainhftrdt and Edward Gordon Craig, tosplred directors,

producers, and designers in America to move from the "old"

and ovar-msed naturalism, illauited for a presentational

effect, and experiment with the "new" forms of production*

Perhaps the most noeaworth achievement of the new it age*

craft movement was that it brought about a new conception

of the complete unity of all the aspects involved in dramatic

production. Sheldon Cheney, pioneer in the new movement, has

expressed the idea clearly:

The art of the theatre exists not in the text alone or in the acting, or in the stage decoration,

4Xbld.. p. 174.

but In the production as a whole, with pity, acting and setting bound togetter to afford

one harmonious appeal.

The aead for refooa was felt by numerous playwrights, edu-

cators, and director*. First reform* were manifest In a

turn, to stark naturalism due to work by such European theatre

figures as Xbsen and Antoine. Later naturalism, as we have

mentioned, was replaced by the efforts of such sen as

Mayerhold, Apple, and fuchs, as wall as Balnhardt and Craig.

The combined work of these men helped to foxm the method of

Stage production known in this country as the new stagecraft*

Revolution began with the attempt to fit a method of

presentation to the demands of the ecrlpt. Use of the various

styles within the new stagecraft entailed not only particular

methods of acting and direction, but also particular methods

of visual presentation* The "new atage•craftsmen" constructed

their work on two fundamental principlest that the stage

setting wist be a definite and integral part of the production.

In harmony with the atmosphere of the play viewed as a whole;

and that the setting must not be distracting but should lend

Ssheldon Cheney, gfg jfffVffitfnfr j& S M <®ew *<«*» 1914), p. 121.

itself to the action of the play. The fulfillment of these

principles been® the basic goal la the n@w stagecraft

Two of th© Mint outs tanking contributor* to the devel-

opment of the mm stagecraft in Europe were the two mm

previously mentioned, Hue Reinhardt and Edward Gordon Craig.

Edwin A. Ingel In liia book, The Haunted Heroes of Eugene

Q*Helll. assures us tha 0*tielll mis influenced by tha work

of thas# nan. Max Reinhardt was an innovator In tha European

theatre» His naw Idaas astonished many and caused a furor

within tha realm of both European and American drama.* He

was among the first to appeal to tha masses with thought

content as nail as spectacle. Bypassing unfavorable opinion,

lainhardt achieved an Intimate contact batman his actors and

tha audience» based cloaaly cm presen tatlonal ism as found in

tha classical Greek theatre, Ha replaced the usual ultra-

realistic scenery with architectural structures, using tha

space stag© as a means to asaphaslse the actor. Ha brought

th® actor as near to the audience as was possible in order to

include the spectators in the action. Reinhardt gave new

individuality to musty masterpieces and through tha careful

*lbid.» p. 123.

plwmisxg q£ their scenic pictures he m i able to asphasiz*

their stes sagas. One of hi# most outstanding productions wis

Tiie Miraela. which be first pvmmtmd in Berlin and eventually

brought to H«v fork. the MiaicU. for which ft^inhardt con-

murtiad an entire tiieatire into amediaval cathedral became the

outstanding example of the new movement in lurope, and <314

ouch to inspire dramatiata to the United States,7 Lazarus

Laughed shows an apparent influence of Jh^ Miracle* Me tmy

safely assume that 0 'Heill was influenced by Eeinhardt in

this respect because the European experimenter was a popular

subject in Anerican theatre circlaa of whieh O'Haill was a part*

Bngal alao points out that 0 *Heill of tan discussed tha

theories of Idw&rd Gordon Craig with his elose associates,

Robert iSdraond Jones and Keimeth Haegowaa*** Craig began to

gain world-wide attantion when hi published hia idaaa of tha

w m theatre movement in ftnglish. Craig promulgated such idea®

as using scenery which moved during tha flow of tha production

and having aatora who would be always subsarvient to the demands

7Huntley Carter, Theatre of Has Rainhardt (Haw York, 1914) pp. 117-264 passim.

%#win A. Ingei, g|& Bywiiai4 Heroes of Euaene 0'Kail! (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1953) p. 64.

a

of the dime tor, Craig, tfxx* •m m a Identify with the

symbolist taovswwnt, held that every stage production oust

be entirely controlled by a single mind* The syabollsts

used the staga to show how envlroonent Is set apart from

the body* This Is achieved by bringing to the fore only a

significant detail of the environment, using this detail

as a symbol for the whole.9

One of Craig's iiore interesting suggestions was that

tha live actor alght be replaced by a "super-aarlooacte"

nho could be counted m not to distort* with his personality

the visual harmony casated by the director*10 This idea

coincides with the symbolist Idea chat a stag® production

In every aspect must be thm work of mm. «lndf a "teas tar

mixtd*" H@ explained s

And X an distinctly under the taprossloa that It Is the Actor iiho la going to bring thie treat (the fuppet) to tht world* The Actor Is not sophlstlcatad-not ia®chanlcal —and, sick beyond

9Corellk, fllfrfrlffff,. I m 2M» V* W *

10Vera Howry Roberta. On Stage (Hew York, 1962), p* 430*

words of the stickiness of the Cinema, he will overhaul the whole craft and give us what we want to see.^

Clearly Craig did not want dummies on the stage, but used

this suggestion to express his wish that the actor be domi-

nated, not the one who dominates.

O'Neill calls for actors in Seen® Five of The Hairy Ape

who resemble marionettes in their movement and somewhat resemble

them in their appearance* Me may assume that O'Neill had

studied Craig's use of the word "marionette," But O'Neill's

suggestion was for a theatrical style of acting, not a plea for

a subservient actor. Craig's influence cannot be safely

suggested by this slim, and probably accidental, connection.

Ve can, however, pinpoint the English theorist's influence

in other aspects of O'Neill's work. For example, the

engulfing, progressively moving, jungle in The Emperor Jones

calls to mind Craig's work with scenery that moved during

the flow of the production. The symbolic mask in The Great

God Brown adheres to the symbolist idea that one detail might

act as a symbol for the whole production. (Both of these

examples will be discussed in detail in the following chapters.)

Realising that Craig's theories found a worthy following in the

• Edward Gordon Craig, Puppets and Poets (London, 1921), pp. 18-19.

10

United States, it Is safe to assume that O'Neill, so much

a part of the new American theatre, did not escape the

English idealist's influence.

To this point we haw seen the philosophy surrounding

the concept of the new stagecraft. Let us now turn to a

concrete application of the new stagecraft as applied to

the work of Eugene O'Neill. With the latter thought in

mind, we spay best describe the new stagecraft as direct

staging. According to Mordecai Gorelik this entails;

A type of staging which is addressed to an alert and participating audience rather than to a passive and contemplative audience* It describes the psychology of most con-ventional staging, 2-2

It also "describes the psychology" of thought which infiltrated

the American stage. The arrival and acceptance of the new

production ideas was slow, and the vehicle unconventional,

but the ideas soon found expression on the American

stage, and especially in the plays of Eugene O'Neill.

Direct staging, which may also be called presentationalism,

is precisely what defines O'Neill's use of the new stage-

craft. Assigning one particular term to the style of the

12(jorelik, Hew Theatres For Old, p. 497.

11

plays of O'Neill, though expressionism Is a very predominant

one, would be an erroneous undertaking since the plays dis-

play many of the style® found within the bound# of the new

stagecraft, in addition to the many instances of naturalism.

The environment in which O'Neill experimented with the

aspects of the mew stagecraft defined his use of it. There-

for®, an extensive view of this environment and its own

origins will provide a better understanding of O'Neill's

experimentation. 0'Neill began his work as an experimenting

dramatist not on Broadway but in the little theatre movement,

particularly as a part of the Provincetown Playhouse, In

truth he was a significant part of the little theatre move-

ment and contemporary with such men as Sam Hume, director

of the Detroit Arts and Crafts Society, mid Maurice Browne,

director of the Chicago Uttle Theatre, The phrase "new

stagecraft" was closely related to the little theatre

movement. The former represented the leading characteristic

of the latter. The new stagecraft, which was essentially a

rebellion against the choking predominance of naturalism,

was the guiding principal of the little theatre Movement,

which began as a rebellion against the monopoly of theatre

production cm Broadway. The little theatres came to public

12

notice following World War I. K*inhardt,s production of

& p m m u and Craig's wrifelaga mti responsible for the

inspiration of MVM*1 mm later bee*# piroeaimmt

w o in America. This liat includes both $as A m mud

Maurice Browne. These tnsfi were interested in the naif and

experimental. The Mrm&my stag© was ©ve» then a coupler

•yitao, and no producer wished to invest money la m experi-

aeatal font of staging which rialsad unfavorable acceptance

by the critic* and the public. Aa a result, the designers

in the viaual arta, who bad become infatuated with the m m

movement in th© thisatra, turned to the mxz best tfotxtg«<*the

little theatres,*^

In practical use, the mm stagecraft manifests itself

In many way®. Its presentational ideas may be expressed to

the script, in the set design, in only one scene, or as the

controlling element of the entire production* Several

styles evolved which employed the presentational format aa

their basis. As has bean mentioned, these styles Include

many of the "isms" which followed naturalism, such styles aa

theatricalism, nm•romanticiesa, syabolism, or expressionism*

13Sheldon Cheney, The Art theatre (New York, 1932), p. 187.

13

and several others• These stylet served as guideposts for

such minor tributaries as Dadaisa, construetivisn, surrealist,

formalism, and several less accepted ones* For our purpose

we shall look at expressionism, the style most employed by

Ocelli. One of 0'Keill*e best examples of the use of ex-

pressionism Is |h® iaiinr Ape. In an interview held early

in his career, 0'Weill confided:

The uiiole play is expressionistic . The ooal shoaling in the furnace-room t for Instance, Stokers do not really shovel coat that m y . But it is done in the play in order to eon* tribute to the rhythm.«*Take the fo'c'sle scenes in The Hairy Ape, for instance. feople think X ma giving sxi exact picture of the reality* They don't understand that the vbole play is expresslcmistic.**

In close observation, one is able to see that O'Heill's

m m of expressionism departs wxaenhat fro© the conventional

definition of expressionists. As a »an of this theatre £r«a

his birth, 0 'Heill saw expressionism only as a swans of

theatrical presentation. To him, the use of it could be

expressed in terms of the theatre. He could not separate

it from use other than prescribed by the theatre.

l%ary B. Mullett, "The Extraordinary Story of lugene 0'Heill." Aaieriean mm&Um. XCXV (November, 1922), 34.

14

la order to formalize a definition «£ expressionism

m it n $ used by ©'Weill, let us txcalne the conventional

definitions* After the First World War, expressionism

became a primary form of production found on the German

stag#. What it aeant was puzxling even to fch@ Germans,

Today it i® still not completely clear. For tome It

represented m y tread which m* not in any way lite

naturalism. la M s book, Zk& Story Jgfe Thsatre. Glenn

Hughes explains expressionism as it ii« viewed at its

origin:

Expressionism in brief, is a nam for any method of theatrical production which is opfposed to representation for its own sake* In other words, whether the materials of production (actors, scenery, properties, It cetera} are real or artificial, recog-ni*ablei»itatian» of natural objects, or abstract symbols of mood and feelings, does not natter* They are expressIoniatic if fchsy are used to convey a significance other than that of mere representation.1*

These methods of theatrical production might include cubism,

formalism, post-impressionism, or many more. Indeed these

forms say be portrayed in the expressionistic production.

In reality, expressionism finds its roots in such painters

u ^ Glerm_Hughes, 4|i«„tory. g£ the A m m S ^ $ E &

\sMW xOUIt 3*925/ § ffr e 290 e

15

m Klee, 55rwt, Chirico, Chagall, G ross or the French

"primitive*." These artist* <mtiked midst the movement

later termed "surrealism," Surreal is®, in art* leaves

the things found in the natural world, and finis Its

subject* elsewhere# The method by wtiich it is expressed

is alwsys the saw-to picture specifically the most

radical aspects of visual imagination. Surrealism, to

achieve its purpose, depends upon its ability to shew

that the absurd is actual.16 As a part of the theatre,

expressionism retained a dependence on reality, as had

its forerunner, surrealism. In the theatre expressionism

found its basis in the distortion of reality, closely

related to a "dream world" quality. August Strindberg's

&B2S* SSQfifiL & n d Us. iatt flax »*» excellent examples

of this "dream" effect. One of the aims of expressionism

in the theatre w eh© attempt to leave the proscenium /

stage in favor of the stage platform. Ixptteaaionism, more

of a point of view than a style, often uses the symbol as

the Mans of presentation. Georg Kaiser, perhaps the chief

playwright using the theatrical ©xpr#»si<mistic medium,

i6John Ives Sewsll, 4 Bl$SEX 2* &ft£g£ft 4J& *ork, 1961), pp. 772-773.

16

«xanpli£ied the wnt of 1b bis flay# Gas Jt and

€n« IX« Kftls*r uaed such things as explosions, machines $

colors, and *blta cats to esspress such Idea* at social

injustice, capitalistic wpr®«aeys and the evils of

industrialism, this Is particularly significant since

the use of syabols Is n. prominent feature of the type

at axpresslonlsa found la several of 0'Heill's plays.

The styles of. expressionism, symbollaw, and naturalisra

s » v«ry often found concurrently in the plays of Eugene

0 *K#tXl, for cmqplft* in the . flppaaar.

Afea. d*Halll employs ffl^p»«steilstlc dlstcnrtlanj».js»§.,ar

«tre nceR®« # i i k others tend to be n*tei»llaeie»... ,AiU. „of.

thas® s©m#a_ « » interspersed with sfrahc su^ ...jgjKXMdMlttewiB-

ftaniiahea dffAaitt^ti of «^»ses«lmljra closely r f | # . ® § 4 , ..50..

fehs..seyl« um& hy 0 'Heill. Macgowon defined i t a® southing

aosg atfcmptjtaeaeape • realism;

It ruight u»e uacure or .mart, as the raedio® of '©^ressioii tnjr. it. subdues the..appearance of this .natural world, to the toner reality of His motion which i t wishes tomato clear to us.*' ' "

^mrnrnm mcgtrnmn. H a Theatre ff . ffflMOT! 0»®w *°«*» 1921), p, 254.

17

Sheldon Cheney, though tending to romanticize, explains

this "inner reality of the ©notion" as an expression of

the playwright*s emotion rather than the picturing of

that which stimulates it5 as an escape from what can only

be j&enu by the eye.

The distortion of reality and the "reality of the

emotion" are the keys to the type of expressionism employed

by O'Neill. Such distortion was used by O'Neill to achieve

the inner feeling he wished to portray. |ln The Emperor Jones,

the inner feelings of the Emperor are expressed by symbolic

figures which r#pr^#nt the Ssaperor's pas t I n All God's

Chilian Got Wings, the walls of a room slowly close in on

the characters in art expressionistic attempt to reveal the

engulfing situation. Distortion of reality and the picturing

of inner feelings are conventional in delinitioili of jgsp.X'.M*

sioniwa. Q 'Nelll's .dstgRyjaagft,.conventionalmethod®

stems froa..

theatrical best suited to express his ideas for these two

plays mentioned above.

^Sheldon Cheney, The Theatre (New York, 1952), p. 519.

18

In our search for a clearer understanding of 0'Nelll's

use of the new stagecraft let us investigate hi® early

association with the theatre. Eugene 0'Nelll began his

dramatic career as the new stagecraft was being introduced

to the American stage, but 0Weill's contact with the

theatre began at birth. As the son of James O'Neill, Eugene

spent most of his youth watching hi® father portray Kd&ond

Dante® in The Count of Monte Oristo. He took very little

interest in his father's career and only actively participated

once as assistant manager in a vaudeville adaptation of the

play. This period of O'Neill's life is in fact characterized

by a disinterest in his future. O'Neill at this time had no

set goals. In his early manhood O'Neill attempted to hold

several jobs* he was a seaman on a freighter to Buenos

Aires, a salesman for Westingbouse in South America, and a

clerk in a small wholesale distribution firm. After he be-

came ill with tuberculosis, O'Neill was sent to the Gaylord

Sanitorium, and it was there that he decided to write. After

his release from Gaylord, O'Neill was persuaded by Clayton

Hamilton, a close associate, to enroll in George Fierce

Baker's English 4? playwriting course at Harvard. Be-

cause Baker wished O'Neill to follow old tradition rather

io

tS%m. eaperSaaafc with imwrr Ideas?, tie <fait the course mad

Introduce to the ii senary group la tsar called the

Province!#*® Players , W

Thci&oup HnoKR as the Provincetown Play@x*s wis

orEpralsad at Province to*«zi» Haaaachuaatta, la 1915 and •

T>ycaw» the mummv retreat for many of ths Greenwich Village

artilfts and **rit*ra. The original group included ®wch

peoples o€ the arts and Vitetmtwre m Sci#«ri Gla&pell* M m ,

St* Vincent Mlllcy, George Cram Cook, and Alice Giretenbarg,

Tli® palmary purpose of the group was to provide a stage for

m m Asne^ioan rtraraatista, giving Sheea opportunity for

expertaaafcal •work without the narrow^ltwted control of tihm

connsercial theatre,. T.n 1916 & branch thaatra was established

in Hew fork ^which fuacgloaed as the experimental laboratory,

!fc was allied sitaply the Fravlncetcraa Playhouse• George Cram

Cook ties selected to be director* It «,§ characterised aa

a radical theatre, rebelling strongly against the caonaarcial

natural lata,

19Croawell Bourn» the a m s i & & i < * « * 1959), pp. 62-48 saeito,

23 Chawsey, The Art Theatre* p. 477.

20

A t Harvard Eugene O'Heill had written mvmml on®-act

plays. twit®* to mmt th® frovincetown group, h« brought

with hi® Bound |H£ fat SSS$H£ f o r t t e n t o

Georg© cram Cook rend it aloud to those present while O'Heill

rasaioad la another rooea. Everyone agreed that hi# work

shooed promise. With treiasndous enthusiasm, Gook began

making O^ill tha revolutionising forca of the company.

0 'Melll soon gained a position of praminmee and respect

to the Provineatown group. In 1922 the WUybmm m* closed

for the purpose of reorganisation. Many ol th® group left

involved in other activities* Baring the lutetia

O'Keill, Kenneth Mecgowan, and Sfifeert Edaond Jones began to

plan th® new theatre. 0»!eill felt that the Bohemian life

Q£ original group did not lend itself to the dlsciplina

necessary for a successful organisation • He offered the

directorship to Macgowan with th© idea that Mm$omn should

hew complete control* Refusing to accept ccwplete authority,

n&cgmma suggested instead that Ocelli and Jones join hta

to form a type of Htriuravirat©»" all with the powers of

director, the gentlemen called thair thaatre the Expertoental

Theetre. Even though officially the time of the theatre was

Hit Experimental theatre. Incorporated, th® public and a law

21

of the members retained t&m mum The Provincetown Playhouse.

From 1923 to 1924 Tlie Experimental Theatre presented sixteen

of 0'He ill's plays, In 1923 the group produced Emperor

Jones. All God's Chlllun got Minus, Clencairn. and fMPPPM^^ MflPRMMMW ,3iPPwiiP'PlPiPwi'P : —>r~—— — --• —

Desire Under The lima. ' la 1^24 the theatre produced a

revival of MSZaBS.*21

This new theatre» formed by the triumvirate, was tailored to give 0*80111 a free hand* O'Neill had clear and persistent ideas of how plays shooId look and sound on stage, However* as Edith J, R. Isaacs eyggested, "the coawereial theatre*® realities disturbed Mid confused him; they were ao seldom vhat he saw in his mind's eye," The new organisation was dedicated to make visible and articulate the images existing In the 'bind'a eye" of Sugeme O'Reill,2*

411 three ©en were extremely interested in the new theatre,

and muted the new stagecraft to be a part o£ it* 0 *Keill

had clear and definite ideas of how his plays should look

on Hie stage and wanted the freedom to experiment.23

Before going further let us look at the theatre in America

as it was when O'Neill began his career. The theatre at the

*lHelan Dtuteh, The Frovlncetown (Sew fork, 1962), pp. 99*101•

*^%dbert Black, "Robert Kdnwnd Jones," unpublished doctoral dissertation, department of Drama, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 1956, pp. 131-152.

^^Ibid,. p. 152.

22

t a n o£ tha oantvxy cm of ttiA stock eo&paxiias» Tfa*

Btmsk cempmay mm a thoatr tcel trtmp- attached t© sows

par t icular theater®. Each member of tlms group undirtook

mmm apealal l ine of bustne»s<"<»tha leading man and woman,

the old sansi and wmm,* t f e mmpmmmmx&xy or guest i U r t e t c .

A pttK&Kitloxt uat Uni ted to a finr performances, t tan anotiier

iMaedlatiely took I t s p U a t , aad m b@§asi ®» tt&ln

of brief ^ O 'Nei l l ' s fetter w i a raembetr of

aueti a compsay. Tfe© «c@aairy, i f not hindlid in a slipshod

*ay, mm natmaaiietie mmk In the mmmr Bmlmmo followed.

Chiefly the raato object of suelt theatres mm m mmmmiMl

mm* f o r th i s reaiiott l i t e r a ry quality «m not of gvaat

Importance. Any play, so long as I t had audience appeal*

was worthy of th® stock conyaay'* ctfmsldevstisci» Uliat plays

tha*w wave of l i t e r a ry m r i t warn £ m p i « a and tin# author 's

m m sold out the houses not always aottog a b i l i t y . Whoa

»w«h actor® as Edwin Bootfc, and l a t e r i w i J i m s O'Veil l ,

gained sueeea* fo r tibMnaelves, audianeea etna to sua that ,

not necessarily tbs play.**

^^fhyl l is Hartnoll , ed i to r , JIm Oasford Companion jg^ the <X^sodi»# 1951)» pp. 771-7727

23wuiiff» Lym Ftiaips, twsatlafch Gmmiqi. Ihtmpe* {Wmt *rn% 1920) , p , a . ^n^ra-rcr -w-™ p r r -mr

23

Sven mi early m the middle nineteenth century, the

stock eaapanies, primarily located in New fork, Boston, and

Philadelphia (though doaens of cities of population 70,000

upmxd bad a resident stock ©ewpany up to the depression in

the thirties), ware being threatened by the establishment

of the long-run play* By 1880 the threat was strongly

apparent. Mow in M m fork the long-run play had become

an established and m accepted thing. But there yet

renataad the eannezelalia» that had plagued the stock

conpany* Producers were Interusted only In plays that

could pay for thatsselvea. there ««« no mm for anything

other than well-tried and well "accepted plays*

It IM® into a world of theatre such as this that

lugea© 0'Weill am® with the burning seal to ©xjmrisient

and work with mm ideas* It w this type of theatre that

the new stagecraft helped to repair*

Many of ©f»aili#» intentions as a playwright are explained

cpite clearly la hi* « words* It is not difficult to see

that he was disturbed by the product of the conimerci&l theatre.

In his explanation concerning the purpose* of The Experimental

theatre, 0'Kaill gives us an Idea about his feeling® con-

cerning the purpose of dramatic production;

24

Our plsyhmim is essentially a l«bor»tory for artistic experiment. Our alias mm special •.. »A play is written to be ex-pressed through the theatre, and only on Its aaarifcs la a theatre aim a final judgment be passed ©a It with justice* Wa daasnd this hearing,2®

EU owu intentions an an experimenting playwright ware

expressed by faint in a witten opinion of Broadway:

X xmnt people to leave my theatre actually quarreling about «liafc they have Tbaxv is nothing More tragic to me than

uxuoved tint pone out of our Broadt#ay theatres after tint play{*7

Wa can only suggest that 0 "Neil! intended to utilise the

opportunities given to him to put into practice his ideas

concerning the mm stagecraft.

As w® have Been, Eu;pna 0 'Neill was influenced by the

tiMis* Th© little theatre movement, European dramatic

innovations as discussed in American dxmm circles, Macgovmn

and Jones wre all a part of those ti»es. Those particular

Influences %foich prompted 0 'llalll to wit® and attempt the

"new" are difficult to uncover. Many influences can only

be assumed, others are indirectly revealed in O'Neill*s

26Deutch, The Province town « p« 109•

^Arthur and Barbara Galb, 0 *lleill (Henr fork, 1962), p. 477.

25

comments and those of his critics, while a select few

axe easily uncovered. He proved himself to be interested

in the newest aspects of literature when he reported in

an interview that in college he was more impressed fey Oscar

Wilde, Jack London, Joseph Conrad, and Renrik Ibsen than

William Shakespeare, He proved himself more interested in

the works of Guy de Maupassant, the French writer of short

stories who often dealt with inner feelings, than any other

writer. And he read everything by him,28 The Emperor

Joneswhich .expressionistically reveal® the inner feelings

of the tortured Emperor, and Strange Interlude, in which

asides expose the inner feelings of the characters, surely

indicate the influence of de Maupassant. These particular

literary influences are not always easily seen in O'Neill's

writings, but are significant in that they provided hia with

the desire for the new and the modern. One literary in-

fluence , however, may be seen in his plays. Many, in-

cluding the Provincetown Group, attest to the influence

of August Strindberg on O'Neill. Much later, or course,

28Bowen, The Curse of the Misbegotten, pp. 58 and 125.

26

on the occasion of hie ncmiteafcicm for the Nobel Prise,

O 'Neill admitted In his acceptance speech:

Of eourM, it will be no newt to you in Sweden, that my writ awe* tmch to the influence of Strindberg* That rune clearly through more than a few of ray plays and is plain for everyone to tee. *

it ia likely that we can accept 0'Hem's obeisance liter-

ally. Several instances in hia plays attest to its truth.

Clara Blackburn, in an article written in African Literature

entitled "Continental Influences on Eugene O'Meill's gapres-

sionistic Dramas/' points out several parallels between

the works of Strindberg and those of O'lfelll. Miss Blackburn

especially sites the many comparisons between Strindberg's

&s. s s s B Eisz *w» o ' i i « iu'» aeiia i n Q a bessb

flay. Indra, daughter of a god, descends to earth to

experience ehe trials of mankind. Likewise in the Hairv

Mildred , the daughter of a rich company president

descends into the hold of the ship to view life there.30

There are alao several parallels found in the dialogue of the

29Gelb, O'Neill, p. 614.

SOdara Blackburn, "Continental Influences on Eugene 0'Reill,a Sxpressionistic Dramas,** American Literature. XIII (May, 1941), 115-121.

27

two plays. The daughter of the god in The Dreao Pl&y visit®

tha working site of some cca.1 vorkers. S trindberg describes

the mmis In this Banner:

On the left, a big pile of coal and two vheelbarrovs....Two coalheavers, waked to tha «saist and black of body, face and hands from handling the coal, alt on the wheelbarrows. Their faces show despair and agony*-*1

In tha dascription of tha stotcahola aa Mildred saaa it in

Tha Hairy Apa 0'Neill suggests:

Tha stokahola. • .aaurky air laden with coal dust,.*A line of men stripped to the mist .. .One or two ara arranging tha coal behind them,. .Tha others can be dimly made out leaning on their shovels in relaxed attitudes of exhaustion... 3*

Again In The Dream Play, the First Coalheaver makes a pleat

What have we done? It vras our lot to be born o£ poor parents—and not too respectable at that. * • .We taay have been convicted a couple of tinea, too....

31 John Gaasner, Tfttjpwfr og, th*. P m m York, 1931)

p. 1129.

32sugene 0'Meill, Nine Plava. edited by Joseph Wood Krutch (Hew York, 1952), p. 43.

3 Ressner, Treasury of the Theatre, p. 1129.

(7

28

Long mates a siatilar plea in The Hairy Avmi

• • .And who's ter blame, I asks yer? Ve

ain't,. .We wia't; born this rotten nay...34

The Coalheaver also describee his situation by saying, '•This

is hell."35 Long echoe his description when he says, "This

is 'all. We livas in 'ell."^ It is seen by these examples,

though few and perhaps incidental, are too similar to be

attributed to coincidence. In final consideration, it is

not difficult to believe that 0'Belli was influenced by

the work of Strindberg since the Swedish dramatist was an

eaeperinenter who dealt with ©any of the ideas characteristic

of the siw stagecraft.

the enviroiKaent in which O'Neill worked, the dramatic

innovations in Europe, and certain literary innovations

provide the influences which were a part of the tines,

influences fro® which it would have been hard for O'Neill

to escape. These influences indirectly presented O'Neill

with an understanding of the new stagecraft or provided hi*

with guideposts to aid in the progression of his work.

%1leili, Mine Plays, p. 43.

^ iGassner, p. 1129.

^Q'tteill, p. 42.

29

There are other influences which might be called "direct"

influences, These influences are composed of the people

O'Neill taet and the situations of which he was a part.

To begin, we turn to Ocelli's homs life. As we have already

mentioned, O'Neill was introduced to the theatre at a very

early age. It is not surprising that Janes O'Neill was

prominent influence on his son, It can be soen from the

stage directions in his plays that O'Neill was acutely aware

of the technical problems involved in the actions of his plays.

O'Neill drew ground plans of settings for most of his plays,

usually when they were still in their planning stage. Along

with the scripts of Dynamo and Pesire Under the Sims, 0'Neill

furnished not only ground plans but detailed pictures of the

sets as he wished them to be in actual production. With his

long association with the theatre, O'Neill undoubtedly was

aware of the limitations of the stage of his day and this

led him to develop new ideas concerning visual p r e s e n t a t i o n . 3 7

0'Neill spent many evenings with the Provincetown group !

discussing the new innovations in the theatre, especially

those concerned with the European theatre. Much of their

time was devoted to discussion of the needs of American drama.

37Gelb, p. 568.

30

Ocelli** knowledge of the new stagecraft was supported

greatly by hi# association wlfcti Kenneth Macgowan and Robert

Kdmond Macgowan, emerging as an eminent critic,

was familiar with the theories of the new stagecraft at

the time of his work with O'Neill. In 1921 Macgowan**

The Theatre of Tomorrow was published, followed in 1922 by

Continental Stagecraft, inspired by his tour of European

theatres. Both books prove his thorough familiarity with

andInterest in the new stagecraft. Jones had collaborated

on the later volume, and, like Macgowan, had been excited

by the changes on tim European stage. The ttuma had

especially spent a great deal of tine discussing the ideas

of Craig, trying to understand what the Sngllsh theorist

was trying to say and how they might utilise his ideas.*9

Ocelli's knowledge of the premises of the new stagecraft

surely could have been obtained to this association, fhe

Experimentaltlhtatxe was determined to produce O'Neill's

plays as closely as possible to the way he pictured them

himself. The realisation of this ambition was aided by

^Ibid.

3§gngei, jjmfflwi fteaf si rnmrn. aZssMi.

31

Kaegowsn's critical help* and Jones'1 advice about t&ehaical

r«atters. ® Since Q*Kt ill's allianco vith these two men

was so strong, it is -not surprising that they should have

had a significait influence on hi®.

Eugene O'Neill's use of expressionism and symbolists is

found in all the parts of his., plays: not only in the dialogue

but also in what he calls for in scenery, costume, sound

effects, and makeup. O'Keill't, experimentation with

expressionism in its fullest definition in the theatre« And

some plays, preseat,an unusual combination of naturalism and

various forms of presentational technique* fti®, sections

following will investigate certain presentational plays

including those,which are expressionistic and those which

are a combination of expressionism, symbolism, and naturalism,

In particular, the investigation will' be "so "arranged as to

view the technical problems which result from the suggestions

0 *Naill makes in his plays.

^Black, "Eobert Edmond Jones", pp. 154-155,

FBDDUCTION TECHNIQUES OP "THE NEW STAGECRAFT"

AS UTILIZED BY EUGENE O'NEILL

CHAPTER II

Ofl!eill and Expressionism

From Charles Edward Aughtry we gals* the following definition of expressionism:

Key ideas connected with expressionism are subjectivity, distortion, and vehemence. This term applies to a style of play writing, of stage design and or pro* due tion<—even of acting, which is not airways psychologically realistic, but nay be declamatory in an "unnatural" way*•••The objective world is deformed in order to suggest an ultimate, inner reality. As a result, expressionist plays often have a nightmare quality about them, which in turn creates an intense, sometimes agressive effect.1

The _ "distortion" expressionism is the. total effect of the

stage production of several of O'Neill's plays. To illustrate

0*Neili,s employment of expressionism, we shall deal principally

*Aughtry, Landmarks in Modem Drama: From Ibsen to Ionasco. pp. 154-155.

32

33

with Uft fWWOT Jgaai «nd B»» BSl£X ABE. other pl*y», in

particular, Lgiaaiji Mmfihad and £rg£t M jfcE«» « •

intereperued throughout with. 41#t«d'~alauMtt*..i^icsh,,

distaste «i otherwise reaiistie, situaticm imd m«rit; out

attention. furth®.®ior@» %m ehali take alanantt

o£ stage production, speeAfiealiy.. «e«nary# sound ©££©ct$,

costume, and fch@ actors themselves f and show how

thay msm used by 0 'Nail]L,ta •m&taija-wa-MxpmmimMt&e

effect.

Between the years 1921 and 1924 0 *Heili wot© and pro*

ducsad ffaa Jtos»y^ andXhe Hairy..Am*. HithXha Mmmsm....

Jofi®8. Q'Hatll wt* ah In to perfect the .Wie. of .syi8ho.ii«»...a«d .

expressionism which opened the eyes o£ £|ta th@atr© public

audi helped to aatablich ®xpmmiomijm m m accepted £o»

ogproductioa, oa the wsrieaii stags, Tha Hairy Ape gaw

furthar evidence o£ the _ auasiie# • that could k w with • the

of. Q^gvUA *• jmni jp&.wgpiitflBlitic tachniquaf and they

•ufficiantly exemplify the techoical fueob&ana iAvalvad<-<lst--«a<

expreseionietic production*

34.

Before the ascendancy of the stew stagecraft, the part

played by the Actor in the production •was limited Co the

mare delivery of linss. The Baroque pariod, for «mplt,

was characterised by actor® who stood before highly ornata

teanaxry m d delivered lines with, a mtnimm of logical

expression and a ml iiiaiM of mcrmmmt, With the coming of

naturalism the actor gained importance because the lines

dalivarad mm an all-important factor of tha production.

In the naturalistic production tha t&lm of the actor,

important as it may have bean, was navartfaelass an* of only

presenting the lines to the audience, interpreting thara in a

natural manner for thm audience, and making tha nmemmry life-

like aovenents. Innovators in th© nm stagecraft amt..£be

actor as a ©ore versatile part of tha prasentationj for

exanpla,the actor could ba a planned . .part o£ .tha-visual.. back-

g r o u n d ^ Wefind in Tba jsaparor Jonas that .this is the primary

foz^jo£ easprass ion „ -

% t is interesting, to note that Robert EAmmd Jonas made a sat of designs for a projected production of Jig, Cencl. The pictures from this sat of designs «hich ha pit into his book Saiteii l2£ the Jones iisad tha actor to form the major part of his scenery. With a phenomenal uaa of light* ing the actors ara arranged to groups so that their armor and cos tunas praaant all the scanary that is nacassary. It is possible to spaculata that 0#Heill nay hava baan influancad by Jonas* technique.

35

As 'the Iteperor Jones moves tfoa gorestf Jto

eaeomtwi s#i»|ml..gr$w®«

la general# ' In {&* a*lglAaX-4P*B*M*£an^

tcmiFiayhotise, _ .wis*, Jl! .l»...

sil]taae.tl»..Jad. mms&tejt femed -i^-lMttkgxHUHii Jta^j&fMtf *

encounter with the killed

while.* JMNttas in ,tfe*,.12alted~fr ta«e*» • • As lie #«uefeles-<.lat0

fell® Jtinfl^ Joi*$* Imndm „. a clicking soundt ^•"' J

iMyiicslteS

grouud be^r^ liit-, piukiufe tl ys

4iM«Mnie«^-«o«saMat« of en syet$raBt,i$a.-»'"'

to Some fear* Jmm encounter® the vision of & %$rite prison v , . . , ( ^ «>," i

giserd with his Negro wards* In Scene Five;

tM»t crowd o£ figures silently enter the

clearing from ell side#. All ere -dressed - in Southern eoa twees of the period of the

fifties of the lest century* there are middle-aged mm who are evidently veil* -to-do planters . There is one sprue® *

%,®eillt Hine Flays> p. 21.

3#

authoritative individual--the Auctioneer. ' There is a crowd of curious spectators, chiefly young belles and dandies vbo law / cane to the slave«oarket for divert ion* / All exchange courtly greeting* in dumb \ shew and chat silently together, there is something still, rigid, unreal,

oarionattish iboot their aovsnents

In Seeaee Six and Seven Jones sees Hegso slaves being trans-

ported m a slave ship, and the figure of a dancing Congo

witch-doctor and hie devel-llke attendants* Each vision is

characterised by ttw eallformerlooatta actlmiu jaftMfeBimi

sicrv«flMm&#.|» the scenes mi .hsve just laentioned, the dialogue

is eawifil by, ,.|b@ toperor, md,. his

and around the figures whicli act as a visual background, tt

oust also he remembered that these figures are an essential

part of the continuity of the plot. Acceptance of them as

such is vital to the. success of the production.

This sasMi "actor-scenery" is effectively employed in

The Hairv Am, tank and his friend Long, uhile looking for

Mildred near a church on Fifth Avenue, octet a group of

puppet-lite figures resembling those in The fiaperor Jones»

0 *Meill describes the scenes

4lbid. p. 27#

37

j&stilm Jm& maitomfti ffitifi 1r nt »•»»» iftf -suit #rr itrr miF fittifc »h ua w - bakstife jd*^

TM6 <JIWB*I trOIB CtMlTCO @HC6t fXOHt the right, sauntering slowly and affectedly, their heads held stiffly up, looking neither to right nor left, talking in toneless, 8touring voices, fh® women are rouged, calc trained, dya<3, overdreroed to the nth degree. The men axe in Prince Albert#, high hats, spats, cones, etc. A procession of franksnatains la theirda-tached, mechanical vmmmmxms•«*

The mechanics! mmmmut not only adds an austere, distorted

atmosphere to the scenes but is a means by which 0 'Neill

is able to separate the imagined world from the real one.

In a naturalistic production, the world, as seen la the

Paginations of the characters, could not have been seen

by the audience. However, 0'Neill wade this possible la

US. tal m e 2 Sit fift&X, & K through the tech-

nique of actor~scenery. Strictly in the x^tttlonil

tradition, 0*Meill alloys the

of the audience, presenting in view the imaginary tortures of

the hero* In essence, the figures become a part of the

scenery, suggest in,g the locale, defining the situation and

dressing the stage. Corelik describes such technique as — ». — . , ,,

bio-«echanic8, or the application of a nechanical theory to

the actor.®

5tbid. p. 69.

Corelik, lew theatres for Old, p. 345.

33

The s e t t i n g s f o r The JSaxperor^ Jones and The Ha i ry Ape

are secondary t o fchafaoa^^ fcha , .tfowgh

t h e impor tance of t h a p a i n t e d scenery i s n o t s e c o n d a r y ^ % ©

Province tow. Players c a l l e d i n Claon Throcteaor ton, a^ young

e n g i n e e r t o design. s e t s , „£o r i , ^ , . ,Sa B g £aE^&ms<^MSS, - ! P#BSlSfe# ,

who was f o r a long t ime a aember of

Throekraorton caugh t . t h e s p i r i t of t h e p l a y . ? He worked^

ideas , j 0'Weill's des,cr|ia&^JgtA^^

each scene i n a g r a d u a l p r o g r e s s i o n i n t o a d r e a m - l i k e y^scnr^i^.f;.^ 'Wsfrnpyrz >X^>S* "«*# '"' - ",w'

quality, t h o u g h ^ s u g g a a t i v e l v realistic in appear-

a n c e . f o r Scene Two, i n which b e g i n s J o n e s ' j o u r n e y th rough

t h e raystic,.jil»gift*- . Q l l f i l l , , desc r ibes . , t he basic . . . se t . :

The end of the p l a i n where t h e G r e a t ^ f o r e s t b e g i n s , t h e fo reg round i s

\

sandy , l e v e l ground d o t t e d by a few s t o n e s and clumps of s t u n t e d bushes / cowering a g a i n s t t h e earth t o e scape \ the buffeting of the trade wind. In the rear of the forest is a wall of *Nn

d a r k n e s s dividing t h e world. Only when the eye becomes accustomed to the gloom can t h e o u t l i n e s of s e p a r a t e t r u n k s of the nearest trees be made out, enormous pillars of deeper blackness y

^Deutch, The Provlncetown, p. 68.

80'Neill, p. 17.

39:;

In Scan® T h m O'Heill add* aoonlight which seeps through

the forest, end an opening in the trees outlined by under-

brush and creepers. Scene Four open* with a road warning V- "I>( " •; \,.. ,-M, r ~i,< . , i, >. ,r". „ ,, , j. . 4.

across the stage left to right £lanl«ed by shrabbary.

A» JOW «ro^j^.ttojmwai<»gMii« o •jf«m E«ai»

for J®SP.,

will be no .naps,"?,..SiaUMMUJslJSRI,f fatJSRJ"?**

gigantic m l hatig loner over the stage with Hi® eerie

effect of like noon still visible. In Seme Six the foliage

forms an arch across the stage which almost* shuts out the

aoonlight* Scene Seven, the last expression!*tic scene, is

described thus by its creator:

The foot of a gigantic tree by the edge of a great river* A rough structure of j boulders, like an altar, is by the tree, j The raised river bank is in the nearer ;

background. Beyond this the surface of ) the river spreads out brilliant and un* { ruffled in the raooialight9 blotted out and ) merged into a veil of bluithi , mist in the distance .10

Every one of the semes uses painted scenery to frame the

action, usually set in stage colter, the outstanding feature

of the scenery is the use of moonlight to afeintain an eerie

%bid.. p. 23.

I0lbid.. p. 30.

40

atmosphere and to silhouette the mario-attt® figuret;, It

It interesting to not® that O'Neill's description of the

jungle # although seemingly rcwiantle at tiaes, is largely

®»ggestive«*raalla». Only in aoveoent, as whan tite leave*

shift to reveal the coed, it an expressionistic aspect

attained. The purpose of this sea l-real Lisa is to prevent

the diaafe »hqm figures fiw being lost, ti lfey wpld fee .11

placed in a distorted, baekgroynd*

O'Neill's suggestions asfee the change from one scene

to another as sta^le^£jgt§SfeJ^J^

One, the Bnperor's throne room, is only a. slaple set of

archways and open porticos vlth m single throne, *11 sur-

rounded by the @dg€i of the Jungle, In, j$«|,f

Players production, the ro« «»i &»&&•*& and

UTwmm«m%®&,$ much

11

island* ^ With a thrcme,

w® have tlia edge of the Jungle, the

Now begins the progression of jungle changes which 0 'Neiil

suggests to be done by m few additions and rearrangements for

each scene. Scene Eight returns to the edge of the Jungle as in Seen© Two, ' "" ' -"••'••••

Insane th Macgowwa and William Melnitss. The Living Stmm (Snglewood Cliffs, Mew Jersey, 1955), p. 480.

41

Clean Throckmorton conceived the Idea of using a done

to construct the jungle, Th© 4mm wut built by making m

overhead curve, much like m signing, the extension of the

small cycloraxia. The dome mm highly appropriate for the

mall Province town stage, giving an open air appearance

to an otherwise cramped area. The silhouette effect used

to present the hallucinations of the Qaparor n u Throctaorton^s

14m. mil was considered one of the high points of the pro*

duct ion. Throckmorton1 s part in the produetion was saerely

that of a technician; 0'Malll described the scenes and

Throetaortoa executed I;hem,

Anothar example of sat design to achieve an expression*

iatie picture la the one used in The Hairy km. In tills

particular play, 0*llalll aavas tha uaa of expressionisn

for one acana. This ona scena (Scene Five) portrays Yank

la tha sott desperate aoswnt in his saareh for Mildred*

Through expression!* tic aean« 0 'Belli tbovi by tha "distorted"

enotlons, tha dasparatlon which Yank feels, In Scene Five,

Yank and l*ong ara on Fifth Avenue, hopelessly searching for

Mildred• 0'Belli suggests:

42

A corner of Fifth Avenue In the flitis® on a fine Sunday momixig* A general itSBOipter* of clean, well"tidied, vide streets * flood of mellow, tempered sunshine{ gentle, genteel breezes. In tike fear, the show windows of two shops, a jewelry establishment on the corner, a farrier's next to It* Here the adorn* oents of extrasw wealth are tantalislngly displayed* The jeweler's window is gaudy with glittering diamonds, emerald*, rubies, pearls, etc.. fashioned in ornate tiaras, crowns, necklaces, collars, etc. From each piece hangs an enormous teg froa which a dollar sign and numerals in Intermittent electric lights wink cut the incredible prices. Eich furs of all varieties hang there bathed in a downpour of artificial light* The general effect is a background of magnificence cheapened and 'made gro-tesque by comercialisiB, a background in tawdry disharmony with the clear light and sunshine on the street itself.**

As in That teperor Jones, 0'Heill prescribes a seal-realistic

background to be dressed with mechanically novlng figures*

In this Banner 0'Heill completes an expresslonistic picture.

The effectiveness of the picture is obtained by the correct

balance of the real and the distorted subject. In Scene

Five the real, or more correctly the suggestively real,

is oppressed by the presence of Tank and Long, and the

reality of the dialogue. In The leaperor Jones* the reality

is found in the painted scenery and is balanced by the ' i*»«c.*£*v '"J** *•> ^

express lonis tic use of the silhrnietted figurfs. _ The balance

l20'Heill, p. 66.

43

in The Hairy Ape is completed by the distorted figures and

the exaggerated scenery. Tha distortion of reality seen

in both plays enhances the believability of the situation

and the acceptability of the message. ' O'Neill's use of

the realistic in a symbilic-expressionistic manner is

perhaps best clarified by a painting entitled "The Watches"

by Salvador Dali. Dali had used realistic detail in a

distorted manner for his theme. This use is "surrealism"

according to art definitions. In The laperor Jones, the

realistic jungle which moves in an unreal manner to reveal

the road would perhaps be better described as a surrealistic

effect. However, Dali's use of the real object in a dis-

torted manner is close, enough to O'Neill's use of the

distorted and real objects to see the point of comparison.

Frederic Carpenter makes an interesting reference to this

particular use of the real and unreal:

In The Hairy Ape (1922), 0'Neill used expressionistic devices and settings combined with strictly naturalistic details, so that the "real" achieved a symbolic quality through formal repetition and exaggeration.

-^Frederic Ives Carpenter, Eugene O'Neill (New York, 1964), p. 222,

44

Carpenter *s reference hgrs. Is. perhaps cl$#isr. to _«ti»t the art

world wwld tern surrealian, Itoverthaleaa, the, observation

point# oat O'Heill's use of the m l object In the symbolic-

espressionistic situation* It might be noted for purposes of

clarification chat The Hflirv Aae essaplifies the use of the

"reel" for a present*tionai purpose in other scenes than

Scene Five. We have already noted in a

that O'Neill worked expressionism Into The Hairy Ape with <

the scene in ifeLeh Mildred aces the hold of the ship,

O'Neill pointed out to us is that particular potation

that the stokers- nere not working as real s testers would,

therefore, it can be seen that fe© used the seeningly real

in this ®cewa In an unreal manner to empimBim. the plight

of the coraaon laborer, hi this instance he incorporated

the "real" to achieve a symbolic quality.

The problem in design to be reoM&sbered is the correct

relationship between the painted background and the hmam

figures who suppleso&nt the picture. The focal point will,

of course, be m the rawing background, the figures* Also,

the designer mist be careful to keep the picture in balance.

The expression istic features must not be so highly distorted

as to distract fro® the resit® fetes features in tita product too,

and likewise, the realistic elements oust not be m realistic

as to crver-shadow the expressionistic element of the pro-

due tloc. The wmin point to b© rex&mabemd la that the painted

scenery la secondary to the hmaan figures vho must present

the Imagined tiorld as seaa by the. main chamct»r.

O'Helll's use of expressionism m i not lfcslt&d_ to visual

fleets* In swtstl Instances he alloyed effects to

complete the distorted picture. Du&e Georg of Saxe-Keiningen,

the earliest producer to foster many of the production tech-

nl<ju©B titeln brought about the new stagecraft in Europe,

eoptutsixed the Importance of sound effects in stage pro-

duction. ,/.s an example, the Duke produced Schiller's flasko

In Berlin in 1875. Many of the sounds he used were alarm

bells, weapons beating on wooden doors end the eventual

splintering, many explosions, and distant clashing swords.

Meiningen carefully used these effects to heighten the

emotional effect of the production* He did not use sound

for its own sake altogether but, though naturalistic the

sound may have been, to supplement the over-all effect of

scene, (This was the same unity of elements sought for

by later European Innovators such as Stanlslavski and Antolne.)

46'

A1though. (0*mil 1 $m&-not naive me^o£ Bmm4 effect*,

he doe® sometimea call f o r thm. to eugpsent the expreaeionletic

picture, for en example, let m torn once again to The

Beginning w i t h the l a w rj. few notaente of Scene

One and ending with Scene S i g h t , O ' N e i l l c a l l s f o r t he use of

a tom-tom^ j t e joue^ , .££ . ^ ^ j ^ e a i M _ l c w u t e r and l o a d e r aa

Joro® it drowned d e s c r i p t i o n

fop ^ . M > e . *• of h i t in ten t ion® i n

symbolism:

Fron the distant hills cornea the faint, ' a teady t i n rap of a tom-tom, iw? and v i b r a t i n g . I t s t a r t s a t a r a t e exactly cor responding t o t he noxnal pulae b e a t — 72 t o the ialnuta*~&nd cont inuea a t a g r a d u a l l y a c c e l e r a t i n g r a t e fro® t h i s point *i»:taterr«ptedly to that very mtd of t he play.1*

.thai toa- taai c l e a r l y r e p r e s e n t s the

"•f1*®?. *«vagee le f»en t of the p l a y . However, t he auggeated

s a t e of the b e a t cannot be ignored by the d i r e c t o r . 0 t H e i i i , a

tawpo^ c o r ^ a p o i i ^ l i i g , ^ , a i d s i n

t*1® ®tair-ate^|» | i_,®©ve. towixd^ t t e e l l a a e t i e »oo»ent»*'the

Emperor 's d e a t h . L i t e t he a i l h o u e t t e d f i g u r e a , the tora-to©

^ • K e i l l , p . 14.

47

rhytbea is mi ossential part of the presentation, Gorelik

says this about the premiere producttcm of the flays

In the origin*! production by the Province town Player* this sound, which began at the beat of the norraal human heart, rote in tempo and volume until it filled the tiny Province torn theatre with an ocean of clamourous sound and lifted the hearers out of their seats. "

froa tfa:ls report of the original w#e of tiba tom-tom m em

see the dramatic effect, produced by the aound. 'Hue use of

tha tom-tora could be compared to the effect of a catalyst

in that the seemed to heighten, and ,accele£ilte.. $he

effect of the whole production.

in two other instances in The Wmi>®mT Jones., 0'Heill

calls for sounds which are essentially naturalistic in their

as© except that they di»tui*> the stlance and once again

heighten the anticipatory effect of tha scene. In Scene

Two O'Neill explains the particular effect of the soundt

A somber monotone of wind lost in the t

leaves aoana in tha air* Yet this ' sound serves but to intensify the im~ "") pression of tha forest's relentless \ Immobility, to form a background throwing \ into rjjief its brooding inplaccabla J

iSGorelik, p. 232*

X60'NeiUt p. 17.

48

Iter® 0 'Neill makes a paradoxical use of sound i n t h a t it

emphasises the s i l e n c e . Hi® experienced t h e a t r e worker

will have tlntdy realised that in the correct context the

X*ClC °* "*atd c*n b° i M * < L l ( i W l « I U k « M W U <

, 0 < m d I n **• , a m * *• i»M wsnticmsd, O'ttetll

emphasises Hie silence i n the jungle t o set..tjte.sicK?d f o r

Cl» f i r s t appearance of the w a r i ^ e f c t e - t ^ f i g u r e in

iHHIffflE i S M t * another i n s t a n c e , 0'Meill calls f o r

a development

i n Scene t h r e e , O'NeiU suggests*

Except f o r the hea t ing of th© tora~ta»» <•' which is a trifle louder and quicker than at the close of the previous ( se&gitt, fctere is iilwiei| broteit mweww \ few seconds by a queer , clicking scmiid**'

cllcldBgjwai" j# tiie sound of the d i ce being tossed

hy J e f f , the man Jones had killed in the United States.

T o 3 & a e * i a * t e r r i b l e on*^. m * 0 f m «

l»Mt. The sounds of Hie wind and Hie c l ick ing . 4U» a re

b r i e f but important i n th© scene. As we have i m t i m ^ , the

sounds of Hi® t w - t o a , Hie^ wtod and the c l i c k i n g d i c e , working

^together t ^ W I W | C of ^ otherwise ,yery naturalistic

m

effects being used to supplement the total espvessionis tte,

picturn, We cannot my that the sounds in thsmselves are

expressioatstict but the ©fleets they .offer through

increase In volume» rate, and merely breakingfche silence

provide the csqweaslonistic picture with proper emphasis.

Sugene 0 'lfelll rarely calls for detailed aikinip in

Ida experiiaerits with expressionism. He does, however, often

call for a specific cos tune design. In several of his plays

he combine# these two stadia in the fon of masiss* The

adoption of masks, of course, did not originate with the

mm stagecraft movmamxt, but m» a prominent caracteristic

of the Creek theatre « the Creaks used the mask to provide

the actor* who ®i$*t play several parts» with the oppor-

tunity to ehange character in a matter of minutes* 0 'Heill

in his obvious imitation of Greek tragedy would undoubtedly

males use of the mask technique* In his experimentation the

mask served several purposes. In The Hairy Aoe he employed

the taask la a much different way than seen cm the Attic

stage* Where the Creeks used the mask for a utilitarian

purpose, the mask in the new stagecraft is used much as

sound effects—to heighten the over-all effect* 0*Neill

50

suggests in The Hairy Ane that the robot-like figures m

'iPifth Avenue" appear in a Frankenstein image, looking

neither right nor left. Although the stage direction*

do specify the need for masks, O'Neill, acting as over*

seer, had 'tarionettos" given mask-like faces with the

aid of gause and collodion, a lacquer nade of cellulose

nitrates.I* 0'Meill had expert help in the awaking of the

males* Blanclie Hays, an experienced make-up artist,

worked out O'Neill's ideas for the a&sks. She had fabri*

cated the traditionally styled tribal sMUik worn by the Congo

witch doctor in Scene Seven of the Saneror Jones. 0'Meill

wanted all the 'tarionettes" in Seem Five of The Hairy Ana

to he dressed alike—the mm in Frince Alberts, the mmm

overdressed In gaudy gowns and furs—and lie wanted Misa

Bays to make their faces identically haughty and vacant.19

This she achieved by the clever method already mentioned.

As m have said, the uee of the mask by 0 'Meill wee

not a new stage device. This does not, however, sake its

use by 0'Meill one apart froa the new stagecraft. Edwin A.

Sngel quotes 0 'Meill aa saying about the masks

l*Carpenter, p. 100.

W6elb, 0'Meill. p. 495,

SI

A comprehensive expression is denended here, a chance for eloquent presentation, a new font of d n u projected from a fresh insight into the inner forces motivating the actions and reaction® of men and women*.««••* drmm of ioul», and the adventures of "free wills," with the masks that govern the® and constitute their fate#.*0

These coaaents reveal O'Neill's intentions to using the j

mask to represent, or to symbolise, the inner conflicts '

of his characters. At first glance, it would seem that

the masks are merely symbolic and in no my contribute

to an expressionistic style. But looking again we see

two things characteristically eapressionistie about their

use. first, the masks deal with the projection of inner

feelings*»*-iftfter realities of the character. In |jh& Great

Cod Brown, the mask becomes even a controlling force, com-

pelling the characters to act as they do. In the symbolic

play one object or detail of the environment is brought

forward-; to syrabolia;© the whole or perhaps the environment

is reduced to one symbol. In The Great Sod Brown* for

©ample, the masks go beyond being just a subtle detail for

the purpose of representing a total idea. Indeed the masks

20angel, The H»unt«d HetoM of Eujama O'fclU, p. 93.

52 \

becaao a definite part of the plot, c!raving attention to

stovy i-athar than, t^kii^ its place. The sucoud char-

acteristic is tliu disturbance the masks issJ.ce in an other-

WJ.BC iiaijui'iilistie environment. In earlier definitions

of expressionism, we pointed out that in expressionism

toe objective vwzid is in order to suggost an

u-wtiwata, iuai^ r^ailcy. O'il-iill's uso j! tlia ;;iastc surras

chit very same purpose.

iii twj plays J'Kaili ;aakes particular use of the mask,/

Tha Great God Brown unquastionably raprasaats 0'Haill's

altiuate axparimant with the mask. lie explains:

Brown has already envied the creative force in Dion which he himself lacks. Whan he steals Dion's mask of Mephi-stopheles he thinks he is gaining the power to live creatively while in reality ha is only stealing that creative power mads self-destruetiva by complete frustration. This devil of moulting doubt makas short work of him. It enters him, rending him apart, torturing and transfiguring him until he i® even forced to waar a mask of his success, William A. Brown, before the world, as well as Dion's mask toward life and children.... Dion's mask of pan which he puts on as a boy is not only a defense against the world for

53

the super-sensit ive painter-poet under-itaath i t hut atao an bits&&M\ pa>;t of. h is e b u t e t a r as the a r t i s t . ^ the world Is not only Ml**d to tine wm tieaeatfc I t but a l t o sneers a t and condsons tha

noafc I t s«k**j „ z -

0 ' t i a i l l iisoa siaisks i n Tin-: Gr«s*t Sort B i w j to shw laany

ahslas o f diaigl.it h s a o t l o a u ^ S In Th*» IXi-l.i.'g aa<3.

as we sha l l see. lacar , >. Lazarus Laughed.* the *a&0k Is

a pare af t l » njuke-ip, *ts#d co l l ec t i ve l y ix#

croato a si-a^le atE^riU l a H a Etowwcor J m m „ and i n

a la tee p lay , *-Xl GoU'g J h l l l u a Got Wixtm » « Otois o aitsk

A?Me.V'r;S a »$8&olic lapartstic^.» But i n The Sreas Ccxl

Brows - the characfcsiafS are of t h j stasias an-I the t he f t

of cmc: baccraes an iraprirtasit pa^rt of tin© play* O ' N e i l l ' i

descr ipt ion of tha masks i s t2« stage d i rec t ion* ©alls

f o r more than the stage technician Is able to achieve#

f o r example, i n hla f i r s t descr ipt ion of Dion ha suggest®!

Re i s about the sas® lie 1tht as young Brawn but l a m , w t t f 9 without repose, cont inual ly to rest less R s r w s w e * »ent# l i # face la stacked, the siaete i s a f iscal fo rc ing o£ M s own face-* dark* s p i r i t u a l * poet ic , passionately

^^Gorel ik , p# 233#

G o r d o n Y. M i l l a r , | u ^ n e % *1^113, i M fe #M*y*fQ#a C r i t i c (London, 1962) p .

34,

supersensitive, helplessly unprotected in let childlike, religious faith in life—into the expression of a nocking, reckless, dcflnt, Kiyly scoffing and sensual young Fan."

lew to obtain a "boefcing, reckless, defiant, gayly scoffing

and sensual young fan" mask could only be a thing of chance *

Moat of the other masks call for a reproduction of the

features of the "wearer showing one expression of a par*

ticular feeling. This la in Itself a taxing job. Critics

of the play found the appearance of the masks an awkward

buslneaa for the aetore, eapeelally in Intimate scenes.2*

Ocelli's uncertainty about what ha net doing naa revealed

in a letter the dramatist sent to Benjamin la Casseres in

June, 1927* In the letter he confessed that the double"

personality conveyed by the masks was not included in his

intentions, He wanted the masks to become a mystic part

of the people rather than the motivating forces behind

them.25 Perhaps O'Neill realized too late that the masks

did not do all he expected. The masks, did, hoover, create

an interesting effect. **-X

*Vneill, p. 310»

24Miller, p. 38.

25lbld.» p. 39.

55

With Lazarus Laughed O'Keill has a different use for tha

mask. Ill Mill for a chorus o£ forty-nine pe^lC) each

wearing a different kind of aask. Hit diicriptiont tre very

detailed:

All of these people are masked to accordance with the following scheme: There are seven periods of Ufa •haunt Boyhood (or girlhood), Youth, Young Manhood (or WoB&nho®^, Manhood (or Wonsnhaod), Middle Age, Maturity and Old Age; and each of these periods la represented by seven different masks of general typaa of character as follow) the Staple, Ignorant; tha Happy, Eager; the Self•Reliant; the Servile, Hypocritical; tha Savengeful,

^ Cruel; the Sorrowful, Resigned. Thus in each crowd (this includes among tha mm the Sevan Guests «ho are composed of one stale of each period-*ty$»e as period one—type one, period two-type two, and so on up to period seven—type seven) there are forty* nine different combinations of period and type* Each type has a distinct pre* dominant color for its cos tunas which varies in kind according to its period* the masks of tha Chorus of Old Man are double the sise of the others* They are all aavwn to the Sorrowful, Resigned type of Old Age.2#

This use of so nany different siasks by so aany people was an

idea, according to Gorelik, evidently derived from Pollux's

Ho'llelll, pp. 381-382•

56

mpmvt of tba Graak thaatro* I t wmM mmm th&t 0*lai l i

«ik*d for tha mmm tapoitibXa. I t la l u n l y a d i f f icu l t

m«k for tha daalflnar to capture In daa ipi the flaifca

diffaranaa bttwMn Mtho Happy" and "Bagart" or ^Boyhood"

and "faiitfc*H Critics fpure dttploasad with tha Malta

baaauaa ttiay aaaaiad t® aeevt no dlaeovarabla paspoi t .^

The public <114 aot waiter® fcaxid 0*tlaiXl'« ptirpoaa for aaske

mid found them to hm con£uulnga

Yb© axpxaaaJAiiiatie affact of tha «Mk aaa -aartainly

aclii«¥ed in. The Hairv APC-_ -vibmm i t ac«ipl£®mEttad other

t a c t i c a l a f faa t i to paint as aapvaMtanftatla picture*

lsi The Craat Cod trowa and L&saruc Lamaliad. tha

maak la tha oaa present^tioriai alwurat, i t s ana ia not

sufficient t® portray fch® "bayaod raality" aura originally

Intended. Xta praaanca in th* e the r i s e naturalistic

situation ia« cmfyoisig*

With a l l tha axpraaaiooittic effects «a hmm aaatiaoad

in ttm Eaaaror Jonas* fiagana O'tialll showed ttlaaalf to be

meter of tha mm #taga©£»ft, The Hairy Ana eoaf issued thia

aahiavaNant* Both of fchase play* uaad eba "new'' fonae

27Goralik, p« 234,

3?

tftxouglKMt* making fchea the chief b&fiis of production* la

this respect their use-<<w*s tmdesstsnd&fcXe. In feSEMt

mod Brow and Lasatus Laatiied the use of j»#£ _ « new

device, la both cases tte aask, s®«sae.to., tbmt jmt

of proper perspective any taetmi ue.of .

loses its perpo»@£uli*©»i * Alt taaches the technician, that

techniques of theaew stag@ci»£t» for ©xaiaple the expression*

istic style, are best viewed whm every .part, of the pro*

dwcticm, or the scene, helps fco portray the style being used.

Perhaps this explains #iy certain O *H«iiil flays «hieh employ

the new stageesaft have failed,. and also *ihy some have

resulted as his greatest works*

In N^isI plays O'ieill experineafeed In praaenta*

timmllm without the distorted reel ley of esipres®i0i3.l®Bi*

These plays depend insfesd on * allure of other styles,

symbolism usually being the predominant one* the value in

looking et this phase of esqperiroatetioa is mot to dis-

cover e cooparable digree of success or failure but rather

the study will prove to be an interesting examination of

the mm stagecraft in an approach other than through

expressionism* > Therefore» let us consider this different

58

approach, surveying again O'Neill's suggest loos for actor

grouping, mt d®slpsa «ns»a e€f«ct», cootuae, and aake-up,

mdI the problems ttaposed by titeiir use#

tmmasim m m m m or "she wm smeEcmrr"

AS mu.nm BY miens a'miix

cmffEi in

Syabolian «nd Otter Stylaa

Eugene 0 *K«U1 gained wrld-mtde recognition through

his espartamita witfc expressionism, and Im never lost his

seal for ex{Ngrl»entation. In tlae, honrwsr, this seal was

diaiiaifitod by ©#B*till*® personal desire to reveal the

circuastances of hit past# The plays following Thetaperor

Jones and fig, ItaiCT Ape begun to talc® mi the naturaliatie

flavor of tht early ona-act 'tJlancalm" aaa flay®. This

gradual return to sea»i*realism ««s primarily revealed in

the dialogs® 9 whila aasy aspects of the plays continued

to ghm? mMmmm of experimentation to fcte ue® stagecraft.

As a result, many of these playa mm& to be presentational

in their stage pictures yet closely naturalistic in dialogue.

Classifying th®sn plays according to style in either script

or production is a difficult matter* Often naturalit©,

59

60

raaat icism, esqpres sicmisti, and eytttsolisa vrill appear in

d i f f e r e n t aspects in the eawz play. Invest igat ion of these

d i f f e r e n t aspects nevertheless stent ouch the *mm I d t t i of

ex^erifflentiitiaa O ' l e i l l employed in The BBtuegpg J ones and

The Hair? &p««

The mm of actors to suggest the visual background i s

again used in 0 'Wei l l ' s play dealing with the subject of

t&iscagena t ion, ' &£1 fed'f, M M ® §2E i n previous

invest igat ion of ac tor groupings , the usage included wove-

aaa t as well as b i t s of dialogue* The groupings m m an

important par t of the p l o t , d i rec t ly re la ted to the, act ion

of the main claara<?t@rs. For eaMspie, the f igures which haunt

the E&speror Jonas are d i r ec t ly re la ted to t heac t i cm in tha t

they drive Jones on to mmnitj and his death. , to M k m y ,

flMllyaa Got MixisiB* 0 'MeHi uses actor groups cm several

occasion® only to s e t the sew© and to complete the p i c tu re .

Zn h i s descript ion of the opening scene, Q>'Belli says:

The f i r e escapes a re crowded with people. In the s t r e e t leading l e f t , the faces are a l l v h i t e j in the s t r e e t , leading r i g h t , a l l b lack . i

^©•iteili, Ulne Flays. p . 91.

61

wxtoijfi s!»g« «?irscti<3&«» refosr to she "sfcraat «*S

tha whites® " and to the "'street o£ the blacks." In Scan©

Two of the firs?; Act O'Hclll ns#s tho aa»e Actor groupings

fca chsmgt* the ataosphere fraa the preceding scene. Tha

directions read as If th«y wave description* Cor a eet

design:

On« street is ecill all hita, the other all black. The fire escapes are laden with drooping huttam beings.*

Tha "•drooping human belongs" 4a not move but prepare tha

audience ?or tha ooaing trouble, Under laroija® ataadarda

they tmy famm hmm painted a* part of ttse ternaryv if Indeed

they m m used at all. la a later scene tha figures do nova.

Act Oaai, Scene Four la conpotsad lar&ely of a pantonine pre-

sonCation of th« wadding of Jim and SJtla, the hero and

heroin*. Actor groupings fom a major part of the scetiery.

As tba wadding belli smmd from tha church, tenants emerge

fro® the divided streets, the Slacks" on one aide, the

"whites" from the other. Symbolically tha purpose la

obvious , and th® veanti show axi inganioua understanding of

direction*

VNeill, p. 228»

62

Marco Millions employs the same format. We retaember that

in Lazarus Laughed O'Neill had used his chorus of forty-nine

men and women, grouped in different costumes and masks, to

suggest the conflict of civilizations and religions. In

Marco Millions 0'Neill uses actor groupings on a divided

stage to suggest the conflicts of the East and West.3 Marco

Polo, his father, m d uncle are received in many royal courts

during their travels, Always the court room Is filled with

the same figures, though they are in different costume each

tine, the group includes "a mother nursing a baby, two

children playing a game, a young girl and a young m m In a

loving embrace, a middle-aged couple, an aged couple, a

coffin."* Though they never speak, the group closely

resembles the chorus from Lazarus Laughed. Fart of the

symbolic representation of both groups Is a visual summary

of life from birth to death. 0*Neill undoubtedly was trying

to symbolise the universality of his themes. Frederic

Carpenter, speaking of the expressionistlc effects in The

Hairy Age, explains that their symbolic quality in the play

^Carpenter, Eugene O'Neill, p. 117.

^Carpenter, p. 222.

63

Is achieved "through formal repetition end exaggeration•

It cam be seen that In Marco Millions. Kapatltioa and

exaggeration of the same figures in different scenes drove

bmm the Bfmholic meaning#

In both All Cod'» Chilian Cot Win«« «ad Harco Mllliong

0 'Weill demonstrates knovledgeability of act tor placenent.

The benefits 0b tallied by ©ueh placement asm mill, illustrated

in these plays. , In All God'e Chlllun Sot jfiaaa the "nhite"

characters a m always kept opposite the "black" character®»

In tikia 1my the diviaion of racest alao represented by the

divided streets, ia emphasised* The placing of the figures

cm the stage opposite the Poles alao represents ia Marco

Millions a division, this tine a division of cultures* the

modem director has already learned that the placement of the

actor has a variety of effecta on hia acceptance by the

audience$ depending on the position. O'Neill in his desire

to use the actor symbolically surely realised the advantages

that could be had with planned placement of these figures*

Strict adherence to O'Neill*a suggestion in his stage

directions is essential to the success of the production,

the symbolic content in the tm> plays we have tsaeatioried is

Scelb, 0'Weill, p. 557.

64

lost \mlm& the grouping© are presented ta Hie dira®tecl

£om* This is o$l untumMtl with Sugene 0 'Keill » the

directors of hi* plays will find that each aspect is

related to another and become* an irreplaceable link in

the whole; this la tibe supre&e tenat of the a w stagecraft.

Tim Important point to be i esribered akwsi the actor

groupings ia that all are secondary figures, part of the

expressioni*tic or syobolic background of the play.

Set dasi&t la alao an important part of these pm»

mmmtimml«mturali#tic plays. Huch like d m seta in

The Baseror Jones and lato A m . the set designs for

these assume a stylized nature i&lla retaiaiag a 8ug«

ge®civ©-realistic appearance* Heinhawit employed this

sense of atyliaatlon in t&e Miracle in that co®£tm© designs

mere fashioned after the gold and jseeled shrines of a

medieval cathedral.6 Again tuning to All Oad'i Chilian

Cot Wlnae we find that 0'Belli calls for a setting which

is tantamount to expressionism in style, with awry aspect

£w» color to properties designed to represent the uncross-

able gulf between the Uegro hero and the ii» heroine •? In

%orelik, Www theatres for Old, p. 119.

%iller, Mrnm® Q'Nelll and, the. American Critic, p. 36.

65-

Act One the gulf is represented by the divided street already

mentioned* In Act Two it 1® represented by the picture of a

Hegro in modern legionnaire costume and asi African tribal

ouk, Ai Jim and Ilia begin to smother each other with

fflissnsJem tending, the room gradually gout smaller before

the ®y@s of the audience m& She symbolic setting becomes

an ezpressionistic device. The idee is reminiscent of

Sdtasrd Gordon Craig's moveable screens* It would

M » as Impracticable as w s Craig's method of making

tib® screens raove, Unless a suitable method can be found,

moving vails an tli® stage appears to be an undesirable

practise, regardless of extant of ijebolic representation•

Unless it were done perfectly, the distraction would be diffi-

cult to avoid and the setting of the stage with the primitive

mask and portrait, not to mention furniture, -would be

hampered by tlm contracting walls. The critics of All God's

Chilian Got W I u e s did not aention the technique but mm

move interested in the themes of the play. We nay assume

eldar that the designer of the production realised the

difficulty of the moving walls and did not attempt the effect,

or that it was done successfully.

66

All Cod'i Chillun Cot Wing,* once again Illustrates Chat

Sugene 0 'tieill w c aluwys deeply interested In tfa« scenic

background of his plays* Evidence ha* already been pre-

sented indicating that he carefully suggested the kinds

of setting* which he wanted* H© wroto Baeir® Under the Slots

with a particular setting for it in aind.** As previously

stated, O'Neill often drew floor plan* for his plays to

be sura that they i**ra built precisely as he intended, but

with Bssin* Under tdae Sins he went further than floor plans.

0 'Xteill pictured a set that would include a kitchen and parlor

downstairs, and two bedrooms upstairs, as well as <i section

of £axmia»d outside the house* For these im drew four

sketches* each showing the faushouse in between tm large

elm trees* Xn the first sketch, the front wall of the fam-

house 1# shown, in the second the interior of the kitchen

is shown while the other room* are still hidden by the front

wall* The third sketch reveals the parlor, and the fourth,

the two bedroens separated by a wall through which 3ben

and Abbie stare lustfully at each other*

O'Heill poetically describes the set in & special para*

graph preceding the first aett

%laek» 1 "Robert fidraond Jones," p* 169*

67

Two cmowwii else oh lwc% side uz the imtm* Tlmy bead ttteir t r a i l ing b m n t e down, ohm % the r>o£, Ti»y appear to p r o t e c t and a t the same tlbm eubdue. Tlmt^ it» m s in i s te r maternity in thei r u p t e t ! n crushing, Jealous absorption. Thoy have 4®mt&pe4 iwm their intimate con* tmt wltb th& li"e >>€ f&ari in the liout an apalling ha§a*iofies®* They brood opf»sittwly ovar the house. They are likes exhausted m m resting thei r sagging breasts &/<& band* and ts&lx on i t s roof* m4 %$mm i t rains tljeir tears t r ickle 8mm, mm&tmmelj m& r o t on tli@ ihiflglai.

the alas play a peculiarly symbolic part in thm pmmntmt&ms

on® that la difficult to capt&are with paint and "The.

M t t e Earth** is a favorite thma of 0'Belli, Sound in Mmmmd.

the Horizon as well, The pretence of the @te» add# a

peculiar touch to th© action. In prosperous® mmmmm tlmy

smm protecting| in m&mmity they appear demanding, despairing*

Robert Sdnoxtd Jkmm eaeecatied the aata f o r th® production.

Using th© f o u r steetehea which 0*10111 bad utada at a stagnant Ion

for tli® patting, Jonea daalg»d the and of a typical law

England farmhouse. Ho deslptad th® in such a way tlwt

each r o w could be seen e i t h e r alone o r In eoofeinetiQn with

any others. te cm«s m i teas to bm closed off, a panel

^Joseph Shipley, Xfe && of, SBSSSE. g,fcUl. (Seattle, 1928), pp. 22-23.

$a

depicting the exterior a? the house would be alid into pime®*

Since a fieri® was not to use in the original production,

the panels were perhaps made oi another ©afcssrial with

major dependence on lighting techniques to attain the

desired effect. Jona* chose a pumpkin yellow to color

the exterior, thn color o€ hia own hoiaastaad,*® Jones

m ® very pleased with O'Neill's idea arid aioscuted the set

just as O'Neill had suggested. Perhaps hia execution

too faithful, because the removable panels proved to be

difficult to handle as well m time-cosistimlns. 0 'Weill

t»a pleased with the tense but « 8 disappointed la the els

tree®,

. With Pes Ire Under jfee fflms > O'Neill combined success-

fully the technical and literary fotta. Eliminating the

retired visual effects of the play will forfeit the play's

Intended effect. Critics mare impressed by the setting it*

that 0 'Kelll had once again departed from the usual tech-

niques in stage mechanics, Once again ws have no idea how

the setting affected the vierors since critics paid more

attention to the theme of the play rather than i t s decor***'

i0Black, p. 171

1XMiller, Sugeng. O'Neill jwd American Critic, pp. 36-37

69 .

At this point let us move further and once again look

at O'NviU'i use of sound affects• In All Cod's Ghilltm Got

Wings. Act One is significantly enhanced by a sarias of

songs which fon a sound effects background. Act One of

the play is sat on tha street which divides the Magro side

of the straat from the whit® side* In each e&m, the songs

m&rn to answer M a another: sometimes humorously, othar

times lass hunorously* for Scana Ona tha diractions read:

Prom tha straat of tha whitas a high* pitched, nasal tenor sings tha chorus of "Only * Bird in a Gilded Cage." On tha straat of tha blacks a Negro strikas up tha chorus of: "I Guess I'll Rave to Telegraph Hy Baby*" As this singing ends, there is laughter, distinctive in quality, from both streets.*-2

Tha purpose for these two songs would saw to fee to provide

an introduction to fche atmosphere in which tha whole play

is set, O'Neill, in describing tha straat scene uses the

adjective phrase "ruminative lasy," This phrase also

aptly describes the atmosphere which the two songs in Scene

One supply* For Scene Two the white tenor sings, *%ee, 1

Wish That I Had a Girl," and is answered from tha Negro side

with "All I Got Was Sympathy*" Again the songs are followed

120'Netll, Mine tUT., p. 91.

/V

by laughter, but this time It la an uneasy ehuekla. The

scene la concerned with a Negro spurned by a whit© girl

with whoa he is in love. tilth this in mind, the song#

see® to predict the happenings to come in the scene. The

stage dlnetloot for Scans Three read in part:

from the atract of the Whites the tenor, mora nasal thirn ever and a bit drunken, walla In high barbershop falaatto tha last half of tha chorus of 'Vhen 1 Loat You.M

Tha Hegro voice, a bit maudlin in turn, rapliea with the leaf half of ,lKait!»t For the ictoert 1* I*ee

Thia tine tha songs are followed by only complete silence

before the beginning of the scene. The songs grow store

maudlin as the plot becooes more and mom involved with

tragedy. Much like the tarn-tern effect in The Smperor Jones>

the songs in <111 Cod*s Chlllun Sot Wings« though naturalistic,

help to aid in aatabliahing the ataoaphere for each scene*

In Scene Four, the pantonine wedding scene, the songs take

on a different flavor. From the Negro side of the street

cone three stanaas of a melancholy song. The first stanaa

repeata "Sometimes X feel like a mourning dove," and is

followed respectively by "Sometimes 1 feel like SKI eagle in

13lbld.. p. 102.

71

in the air," and I wish that I had never been

bom/'14 So ends Act One in a near tragic atmosphere

wade possible in part by the effect of the mournful tonga.

The effect of the songs in All Cod's Chillun Cot Wing*

is by no oteans the saa© effect acquired by songs in musical

comedy* In the musical comedy the songs may indeed be a

part of tha plot, but can usually be left out and the plot

will remain intact. 0 'Heill uses these songs to fulfill

the symbolic intent of the play. Without than the scene

would not be complete.

Moving again to another new stagecraft technique, we

find in 4!^ Cod's Chilian got Wings a brief yet important •

suggestion for costume* Just as he used the masks in

Lagarun Laughed and The Creat Cod Brown. 0 'Neill uses

costume in All Cod's Chillun Cot Wings, and,as w» shall

see later}in Mournii^ Becomes fiesta and Marco Millions,

to complement th© daairad affect of the play. In these

three plays, the costumes carry out the symbolism within

th® play* In Act One, Scan® Two of All Cod's Chillun Cot

Wings. 0'Main describes two teenagers, a boy and a girl,

14Ibid.. pp. 109-110.

the boy feigned in black, the girl in white.1-* Later in

Scene Four of the same net, O'Neill offers the following

direction:

The halves of the big church door swing open and Jim and Ella step out from the darkness within into the sunlight. The doors Him behind theai like wooden lips, Jim is dressed in black* Elle in white, both with extreme plainness.16

Obviously the purpose hem is to suggest the racial differences

brought out to the play*

Because of all these references to black and whit®, both

in costume and scenery, Che over-all theme of MJkiails.

Chillun Cot Wings would mm to be c m of miscegenation since

the story deals with the love between a Negro man and a white

woman. However, critics have doubted that the thane is really

concerned with miscegenation. Indeed the names "Jim" and

"Ella" indicate that O'Neill was thinking of his mother and

father. The trouble Jim and Ella have in their marriage

perhaps in some way represents the marital problems of James

and Ella O'Neill. Yet O'tieill's suggestion for black and white

costumes, as well as other devices indicating a separation

I5Ibld.. p. 96.

l6Ibid.. p. 110.

71

b*Cv*3n the ft*£S0 anJ tJva white, seaa to sus£&«t t in t 0 ' t tel l l

&aok (praat 9*1*18 tii mg&atia® t ju dime *2. tm9m$mat$xm9

t.f this I # FTO, h i t rs&SRWNSE to black, aad xdhita OOSCUBIO*

iu & syafciltc my to ^saphaat^u th* sspazatwacu

Although tha ®agg«£i«'is far eascucae X» s i s M i & a t i t o

iSSHSSE ---«*?> riviy shcii# ££» tacnroughmss with uhieh

iiipssa O *Holll mtfQov&td Mm pl*y« «iefe t&altalqp** of Sim new

Had shay r-svoal a, soantagftil fiumlpulattok of the

IMWSf 8t*ffiflH5 X* f t •

He 1mm already w>t*d in Marco mi l l aea fcfe&f: 0*11*111

«*«• a mpmtiZlsm of :?tguree in aooh ecntrt a t A t e l the

fol% men mmimd* Th& dl££az«nc«a In locale ar©

8*nfc*d primarily through Othtr £!*«» th* co*tun**»

o®iy * f*r chan ts la fiaa^iagii and m i l pftlatead 1-. sckgro-ande

h*lp to allow t t e differences la local** Bacaua# of the

co*tun*a» how©*®*, dia mtdimm la able to «## * algpi&flatat

progre»©t<» oZ local**. Today CM* fcochnlqu® would bo

standard practice, hot a t tfca tin* of It* mMga it mm not

emmm to aug&aat local* only fcteotagfe th* m o£

To tkm nafeamliste thl» would ha*** he&a an iMumplmtm *t#ag»»

fcobart BdmmA Jmm& had used t t e m m tadtoiqpa In bin fro*

duotiasi of J f e mil ffliy Haggled §, Pianfe Wife. In this

74

production, costume® ware a noteworthy means of estab-

lishing the Iseili and the period. It can be suggested

that the same idea was employed by 0 *Neill In M m w

Millions! 0*Keiirs close association with Jones easily

explain® Ocelli's use of costume In till# way.

to look st Mwthir exaaple of O'Heill's unique

employment of aostune, lot «a turn to the flay which in

every iiptet represents Q'Heill's suprea© attempt Ia his

experimentation • WM production of Mourning SftSSBtfc JOtflttft

introduced several firsts to the American tlxeatre, the

trilogy in * thirte^-act series being perhaps the moat

noticeable. With Mourning Becomes glectra. based on the

curse of the house of Atreus, O'Malll saade his supreme

sttwyt at classical tragedy on tha nodarn stage. In the

progression of the play, Christine Mairnon, who is tha

prototype of Clyteoaiestra, poisons her husband, gam

ttasmon, tha prototype of Agamemnon, tha M»aea,» children

are Laviaia and Or in, tha Ilectra and Orestes of the play*

Lavinia and Orin plot tha death of their aot&ar* much like

Ilectra and Orestes„ After they have harassed Christine

until aha kills herself, 0 •Weill carries the story a bit

further, having Lavinia take on the characteristics of hair

75

mother and become raore like h®r i n every wsy* On® of the

means O'Xeill ummS to show this assumption of the mm

character by Lavinia is through the visual ©earns of cos*

turn* The first description of Christ tee antI Lavinia reads $

Christine Mannon i s a t a l l striking-looking woman of forty but she appears younger* ilia 'has a fine, voluptuous figure and she moves with a flowing animal grace. She wears a green satin dress* s a a r t l y cut and expensive, which brings out tile peculiar color of he r thick curly hair, p a r t l y a copper brown, p a r t l y a feronse gold, each shade d i s t i n c t and ye t blending with Hie other*. •. Lavinia cosies o a t to tlie top of the s tep* where tier mother had stood* She i s twenty-three but looks considerably older* fall like her mother, he r body $ tort* if iMih m ill arm Jt -ahMMk ifflriwlh iri§

11 13113® M M p M M tier i f fed by her plain black dress **7

The costume# suggested In these directions were chosen by

0"Weill to carefully fit the personalities of the characters*

as wel l a s t o establish the per iod and ecmpliixteat the

characters* Christine, who is vivacious and foil of life*

i s appropriately dressed i n green sa t in* Q'Melll perhaps

chose green t o suggest the Jealousy Christine has of the

reletionship between Lavinia and £*.%*• Lavinia, who i s

WLXMmVmmi MflHBI flrOffllSSMIISw® U&y II®!? $ WBMKV fUS® Ullft t! t STJMBtIV®

i7Ibld., pp. 6*0-692. i PPl P PPPi1 mr w*

7$

'•withdrawn" black dress, is the third pert of the trilogy,

after Christine's suicide, Lavinia. becomes th® prototype

of bar Mother. 0*Kelll describee her:

At first glance, on© w M alst&te h@r for her no their as she appeared in the First Act of "ftmeconing," She SOSMS a mature waMn, sure of har £«minln« attractiveness• Har b row-gold hair la arranged as har mother's had been. Her groan draaa is the copy of har mother's la Act One of "Bmeaaisig.** She cones forward slowly* Tha movements of har body now have tha feminine grace har mother's fcad possessed.*®

Once again 0 'Heill employs the visual affaots of costuaes to

achieve that which la not easily said through dialogue. Tha

effectiveness of ©f«eillfe experiments is in his ability to

m&lm dramatic point# visually which is essential in tha

concepts of the new stagecraft.

In several of the stage directions used as examples

of this point, the suggestions call for actions and

feelings which are difficult to capture on the stage. Xn

Mourning Becotsea Electra O'Neill makes another, though

different, experiment with the mask* It is difficult to

classify this particular use of the nasfe as either make-up

l*Ibld.. p. 025.

77

or costume, Throughout tins play 0'Neill instructs tha

characters to assume a maak-lika quality with their faces*

Turning once again to the first description of Chriatixia to

find an exaripla of these suggestions nm find;

Bar faoa ia unusual, bandana rather than baautiful, Qtm ia struck at once by tha strange impression it gives in repose of being not living flaah hut a wonderfully life-like pale mask, in which only tha deep-set eyes of a dark violet blua are alive,*'

In another instance, tfoich ia representative of many, the

direction* for another character reads

Ona ia struck at a glance by tha peculiar quality his face in repot* has of baistg a life-like mask rather than living flaah,20

0*Melli IMS obviously not interested. In using the real mask

ha proffered these suggestions# Be had already found

in tha productions of Jhg, Great Cod Brown and Laaarue

Laughed that a«di«inces could not understand or comprehend

the symbolic intent of tha mask, His suggestions in

HouminE 1 m m m Ilectra seem to font a compromise between

bis fear of using actual masks and tha desire to recreate

19Xbld.. p. 691,

" W . . P. 103.

?s

clastic*! tragedy. 0 Htoill •• suggestions ace weak if we

consider that tt is impossible for the aefcor to interpret

tils chacaetav facial ttspstsston hidden by A

mask. Hits only alternative would he a use of make-up which

would uste tfti© actors lean believable. With the puppet-like

quality %tiieh make-up wold offer, their words would ba

lata significant; ana might say "out of proportion," lt&

final analysis, OHteill's intentions in these suggestions

for the employment of raesks are understandable; however,

in practical term® they are unattainable.

The important thing to he noticed at this point is

that O'lte ill's seal for ©xperiisentation r@iae.ined a moti-

vating force throughout hi* writing career, Hhat was

actually achieved by the experimentation and what develop*

raent it receive will he discussed in the next chapter.

We have m , mvwtlielm, th«t tram 2 » Broegor Jon«».

his first work la experimentation with the mm stageexaft,

to Mowmtng Becomes Ilectra, perhaps his ultimate in experi-

mentation» the intensity of 0*1X0111*8 search for the new

never dwindled.

F10DUCTI0H m S M i q m S OF "THE HIW SraGgCftftTT"

AS mn,izm m EBGWE o'mmL

cmmm iw

Conclusion

Rovani»«r 27» 1953, is the date of Eugene 0'Me ill's

death, that day occurring ironically early In Us® decade

tbit M V the production of son of 0*110111'E plays t&ia

any other playwright's. Only Sean Q'Caaey provided &

mserablanc® of competition for 0'Meill during the fifties.

It is extraordinary that O'Neill gained public acclaim

twice | one© in the tmmttm and one# in the fifties after

his death.1 Hoover, it is not surprising, because of the

experiment* nature of hie sewk, that 0'Heill should have

draim such mixed reactions €n» his critics as represented

hf his rise to favor, the loss of it, end the rise to it

again.

O'tfeill « s certainly a major dramatist, and his

historical importance remains unquestioned,

*John Gasener, Eugene O'Sfeill (Minneapolis* 1965)9 p. 16$,

80

disagreement concerning the greatness of hi# themes and

the (luecMM of hit Innovations in techskiijpie baa existed

since tV* beginning!! of his career. In fii# tirljr

twenties he w s considered the beet of modern dsaaatiate

by eosa© j others disaiissed hi# work as tngigmi #|:pnm r la

194$ George Jean Hathan aaid of hie friend* "the great body

f i f c . w J*fc nfl liMiiiiii i ^ ^ f r w n M f e J i l f c j i f i J l jjrtfgiah JX a m anil<wm *'<* ifiv m*

%wC IWLS WPSrX BHUI ® 91JMI wHBWi p jLCMMKHI QCHE> !OWB®B6Sy

approached by my other American." Two years later the

i-ondon Times Literary Supplement declared that 'lleill'e

world is a beitiary full of vulpine animals and crushed

w m i 1 1 and described the ideas Is hie playa aa 'Wils*

ciplined mmtimw and jejune opinions •

Few will deny that Eugene O'Maill represented la his

time everything that was truly and basically modem about

the American, theatre* He certainly ref lected the modern

theatre in Europe, employing in M a experimentation the

techniques of staging and playwriting that European into*

vators had discovered over a period of approximately fifty

years*3 This experimentation ia, after all# what permitted 2Carpenter, mmam O'Heill. p. 168,

%aa«ner, Buaene O'Neill* p. 165.

81

0*Meill to gain Ills reputation Ioee it, and gain It once

more* Fro© tfca tlam of his early career with the short

Glencairn pUji, through euch expressionis tic dramas as

The Beparor Jones and |tg8 Hair? Ape, to his "self-purgation"

plays such as Stranae Interlude and Lmm M f 1 ! Journey Into

Mlaht. 0*Kelll showed himself to be mi unyielding experi*

©enter

We tew iioud the outstanding treads in O'lffelll's

experimentation., In an effort to investigate life £tm the

viewpoint of the working of sun's minds, tie found that the

scenic dietortion of reality represented, better than any

other vehicle* the desires and cravings that drive human

being®

psychic motivations to the teagiraation of Ills audience t

0 *HeiU many times p«smiitted viewers to see the disturbances

of nature as the tortured characters in the play wist see

them. When Jonas In Jhe gmperor Jones remember® the figures

from his guilty past, the audience is allowed to see the *

aanlfes tatlons of tills sonl •searching on the stajta • in la.

Hairy Ap®. the mental distortion in Tank's desire to seek

*Jotm Mason Browa, WxmmtiM. Fersonae <Keif York, 1963), p. 52#

82

ravanga for Mlldrad'a anobbary Is pictured by tha distorted

iornuadla|» at tha climactic point of bit March* In

theatra circlas that particular uaa of scaaic dasign mat

t@sm«d ©xpresiioeisia. But to O'lfaill this use wmmlf

rapraaantad tha baat way to portray tha "raality" of Iif a

in its complatanass t from inception la the aind to maturity

in deliberate action.

In this endaavor to acconpllah hia purpose la play*

writing, O'Neill helped to establish in American theatre

a for® of scenic design and stagecraft aaw in concapt.

Whethar to dalibarataly intended to do this or vfoether it

m s a byproduct of M a genius ia difficult to say. Havar*

thalass, he began a trend ia the theatre that m m the

admiration of many and avast the distaste of a fair* Xt ia

parhapa unfortunate that many remember 0 'Neill laaa for what

he had to aay than hem ha said it. But it ia tmdanij&la

that much of hia fame la attributed to hia scenic imagination*

For axaapla, Coralik aakas tha following; obaarvaticxu

Tha caaa of Sugana O'lfaill, graataat of tha American Symbolist playwrights, ia aven sore striking, all tba taora ainca 0 'Nsill has baaa an innovator scanlcally as nail as in hia writinga.*

%oralik, Hay Theatres for Old, p. 230.

$3

As we have already pointed out, O'fteill gained world-

wide recognition through the first trend in his expert*

mentat:ion--expretiaioaisr1i. As he continued in hi® asperi*

wents* however, hie eagerness for discovery use replaced

by a more personal eagerness •

0 'Neill auit have shared scne of the guilt that tnraed

hie mother into a dope addict, M a father into a nerve*

shattered hit of nothingness, and his brother into en

alcoholic whoremonger. His third wife, Carlotta Monterey,

witnessed 0'Heill's transformation free an energetic play

wright to a tortured penitent. Many nights he would shot

himself in his study and write until he could no longer

think. He confessed to her that he would not rest until

he had put on paper the true clrcissstances of his life as

a youth. On their twelfth anniversary he dedicated the

newly completed script of Learn Say's Journey Into Siaht to

Carlotta* with the inscription readings 'these twelve years.

Beloved On, have baa a Journey Into light—awl love."'

In Hit own wade, O'Beill wrote feoafc SSlh. Journey lfi£°

6Gelb, O'BeiU. P«wei».

'carpenter, Eugene O'HetlX. p. 42.

m

Nittht "with deep pit; and understanding and forgiveness

for Ail the four haunted Tyrones."®

Long 0a?'* Journey Into HiKht represented the ultimate

penance for ®'Belli« With i f he satisfied the obligation

lis fa i t to the memory of his parent# and brother. Bat

this piay was long la evolving. Many tlaas 0 *llslll had

triad to {Hit his f i l i a l faallitgs into his plays, hut of tan

tiay ruined hit priaary Mtivt, or did not fit tha vthielc

of presentation ha was using at the time. For aaaapla, All

Cod*! Chillun Sot Wlnii ia fillad with eoiaparisons to James

and Ella 0'Maill* The tr ia ls Jim and Ella have in recon-

ciling their differences mm very l ike the trial* of recon-

ciliation ancountared by O'llaill's ®othar and fatbsr* Bacauaa

of this dasira to write the truth about Ms tartarad youth,

0'He ill axparfcsantad with a variaty of stylas until ironically

ha found suecass with raaliam—th© style ha mist abhorrad and

tha style ha had usad in hit aarly cr.rsar*

I t would ha facetious to suppose that 0bill's past

was rasponsibla for his total desire to expetismnt* 0 'Raill

rebelled a l l his Ufa against theatrical comrasreiailata and

8 H M » S P. 77.

85;

its choking •timet on thMtrleii progress* Horn ia ortaat

than guilt complexes » O'BeiUfs past provided love for the

theatre and a desire to rid it of probatory elements.

Specifically, o'Etlll1! contributions in the area of

stagecraft have bean manifested through hi* close utili-

sation of the,.iieifBtagecra£t* With such expressionistic

effects as tom-toms, silhouetted figures, and a moving

Jungle in The Emperor Jones. lie proved himself a master

of experimentation, Ihe Hairy Aoe sustained this achieve-

ment. Both plays raade extensive use of Ihe then new forms

of production* With |he Great God Brown and Laaarus Laughed*

O'Neill reintroduced the mask for dramatic effect v though the

technique proved to he generally unsuccessful when placed

in a modem environment* In the last analysis, it m m

seen thet when the new stagecraft becomes the only basis of

presentation, as in Jtgg, amoeror Jones and The Hairv Aoe.

it is seen at ita best. Haver again did the new stagecraft

become the complete basis for production in O'lCeillU plays*

la web pUf M &11 figilt sauam S2£ Best. M«roo MUIIom.

Satia I t e £isa. P9v*rp*ffli »»<=«•»« gi«ctr» 0'n.iu

reverted only occasionally to new stagecraft techniques in

@6

the form of actor® suggesting the visual background, stylised

settingss sound effects, and symbolic costuming. As we have

previously pointed out, the important point about these

latter plays is that they kept before the public the use

of the new stagecraft and permitted it to become eventually

a much used theatrical device.

We have already pointed out in previous chapters that

many times O'Neill's scenic experiments were unsuccessful

and gave evidence of hi® faults and limitations. However,

what have seemed the faults of O'Neill'a work to a minority

of critics have also seemed O'Neill's greatest virtues to

a majority. Much of his greatness lies in his appeal

beyond the boundaries of his own country to varied

audiences of nany other nations. Repudiating the conventions

admired by traditional American audiences, O'Neill did not

descend to their level, but appealed to other audiences. To

truly find the crux of O'Neill's contributions to the theatre,

one must do two things —realize his courage to experiment

despite narrow-minded objection to anything new by the com-

mercial theatre, and most important, realize the universality

87

of his messages aft found in M s plays. Frederic Carpenter

m ; |I eooMinlAg Ocelli** significance as an Innovators

Q'Mil's reputation we# baaed upon his love of e*peri»i®nt$ lis kept hit public In a ittt* of axcitaaent emir hi# restless and clevi2>r eiaijeriflNSintlngi $ Bis flllUM as a dflsatiit May also be identified with the general failure of expressionism Itself« In its effort to objectify inner states of salad and ©motion, it forced the dramatist to devote too vmch of M a atten-tion, energy, and imagination to pm&leais of the new stage conventions, to the neglect of the essential concerns of any literature,9

It was not until after hie death that 0 'Neil! once again

mis recognised as he had been in the twenties* Since that

tiM several of his plays ham enjoyed major revivals.

Strangely enough most of these more notable revivale were of

plays that were generally unsuccessful la their original

productions* Possibly the reasona for their production is

the attest to rectify unjust criticism of then "when they

ware first produced during a time of antagonism and mis*

understanding•

Since 0'Meill has become famous throughout the world, a

listing of every revival would be difficult* A close look at

^Carpenter, Buisene ®'Belli. p. M X

38

selected revivals of the play® m have previously mentioned,

hamvnXf will provide * view of 0bill's present reputation,

especially in the area of hi* scenic suggestions.

Several of 0 *llaill*s plays have been r©~produeed in

unusual manners. Anna Christie and Ah. Wilderness! (his

only cheerful flay) haw been Ktada into Musicals, A hit

of ecnaercialisatioo tahich would surely cause mm

pain if he vera alive* The Emperor 2 m m has been dona

as a modern dance piece, vhich would no doubt cause further

Most revivals, however, have been serious attempts

to do Justice to 0 'Weill *s original intentions.

Alexander Tairov, one of Russia's anti'Naturalist

dramatists, made excellent and well-received revivals of

The Hairy Ape (1926), Desire Under Klmg <192$, and All

Cod** Chilian Got WiMi (1929), putting thsm in constructivist

settings.11

In 1937 Mottmln& Becomes Electra MI revived at the

Westminster theatre in London* Seenieally the production

DMS well-handled, the adverse criticise of the production

10Alis» Churchill, "Portrait of a Stofoel Prise If inner as a Bum," Bsoulre. XLVIt (June, 1937), 99.

11Cor«llk, gss Th—tre« fog 22A. P- 3W.

89

m m irtiole closely reseofeled die original crlticlan of the

first production of the piay. ffe® critics disliked the

attwuspfc to introduce a chorus and considered tlie writing

of Ada® Brandt's death melodramatic. Generally the erltlea

agreed that the play *»s tfiorow tly a "dramatist*« play"

«ad too difficult to present soenically.12 Perhaps thla

accounts for the fact that no revival of major iarpartane©

has been nade of this particular play,

Fordfeaat University revived %mmt&9 Lamped in 1948.

Because of Its daring to do the play at all, the collage

theatr© received critical attention, the production design

IMS strikingly different from £it@ original, A staple unit

•at w employed, and instead of an architectural fonset»

projections were used to suggest locale. Critics almost

unanimously dismissed th© scenic design as a fair attempt.

In all, the production w m received unfavorably and the play

m m called "Helll's biggest leoon."*3

Arts Monthly, Mil (February, 1938)* 101*1©?,

i3Kappo Phelan, Coagnomreal* 50UVIII (April 30, 194$), 674.

90'

1956 saw tte beginning of the return to interest fen

0 *Heill and four of his plays m m given significant pro-

ductions to that yaiir. Two » n first Braadtmy productions,

o n % s a Musical ackjitatioxi, and one m e a revival* In

that year, Attna Christie mm mad© Into a musical entitled

H«n Cirl In Tom. It had a nodetately successful run,

though it did not gain outstanding attention. Both Long.

Sazlc. Joumev Ma. SUM. «nd k Moon tSS. Sfi. Wlgbonottao w»re

presented for the first timtt with the lattar receiving the

Pulitzer Prlae. (&, Hoon for the Misbegotten h i produced in

1947 hut closed before coming to New York.) Eh* Iceman C«aeth

w s received and because * superb success with a phenomenal

run of 565 performances. As proof of the startling public

return to interest in Stafeti® O'Heill, Carlotta

0*Heill,s Midm, received, sen average of five thousand dollars

a meek in royalties in 1956. Brooks Atkinson e*pl*in®d the

revival of interest in O'Neill:

Tin reason for tba current O'Heill ®e» vtval and its enosnoua success, as far as 1 can sec it* is that tlie mood of the fisblie ia Just right. We are living in an introspective # "sick

H period and

ma» fcM wrifctaa of "•Ittai i i of t te Mtii," tifii iato l t i » hi «•*•* ttfut

Loac P i f 1 ! Jameiiw Into Hight w*» revived twice with

nota[worthy £*©<tt*«tl<x*** 11* Abbey Thaatre |»r©dtte#ii the

play tint in 1959. It mm m wmm§B*l th*t t te

•MMi&t&unm fe# JMWiUtt It *»•<« OXllV V®Hff U t t f i

Tim ctx&pany iollmmd M e loi t ly *« f O i i M t the dimeeietti

O'Neill wc&>%* In that pU|« Crifciea p v i undying to

ffm {toisjMB&y lilNiifji lm£ 0—yynlSy y1#y t

flu* isarfelciiliue #t4fef# ttfratms

Oddly atiough •.•«&« "Abbay gtyln" yswwwi n wump ywrfoat v® h id* for

AfWi iftbcadi S9Bp|#S' #**

A JWMW? **HW* AlHoy fhfHItW in HOtnafcOSif "Pfw—Jtj

frtUlf £ ypwfCfififit jpavlval of fet*# play. Tins i«t ^aitgn

'WS* f (M&fel> It* pgodh*lttiUKl WIMft 8®S lA Ht*f» flCllffltUftril '

f t t *|. * Wit jS'-Mb, afe '' ii/ fitr iw, ^ ;ift'#ii% m '•%# S jKt Jto' • Jfk

IW PP 4RS1 | p0VI*VMr IpWIFiypiPPPW lf wm m Pll jjJWP w WSSyPSS-w

set time without «*lln* In tM.* *»»»* ywyfrnw micii «wwi

t/WMggtb\&4 HnroI4 UtotiNNttlf ^Tff181! ©irlti,© fsv BNut Ycwrtt

t i n , wrote?

Mwrauk, XUX (An* 17, US7). 65-67,

*%•» Task t l w i . B«pt—fr«r 30, 1M2» S«c. 3, p. 9.

9&

It tiwold not be astonishing tb»t O'liUl'i flMit play titaiai its power to move art audience as deeply •s It purged its author.**

h significant revival of |h£ Great Cod Brown uss made

to 1959 ct the New fork Coronet Theatre (now renamed the

Eugene 0 'Heill Theatre#) The production retained the use

of «*S1ES as 0 'Keill had suggested originally* Critics found

that the purpose of Hie masks m « still not clear and harmed

th® overall preaentation,17 Harold Clumsa, one of the more

prominent crities of the production* wrote;

Xt is no longer of first importance that 0 'Weill used *»sks in this play, a device considered highly "experi-mental" in 1926 when the play was originally presented. What is luportant is tt»@ play's theme and the anguish 0*Heill imbued it Willi,,

Stuart Vaughun** direction is much more stylised than the original production directed by Robert Edmond Jones.*®

Xa 1963 The Circle in the S<piara Theatre revived Desire

Under the. Hal* **• Taubman, noting that the play was by no

16New York Times. June 27, 1963, Sac. 5, p. 6.

i7Xheophilua Lewie, "The Great God Brown,11 Aaserlca. CII (October 31, If St), 139*140.

18Barold Cl«»aat "Theatre," nation, . .Qjaxm (October 34* 1959) 259-260,

means "old*£i«hl(»id,w made the following observation

about this particular production:

The extensive open playing space, sparingly M t by David 8»yit con- ' veys the impression of greater XMllt| than do decors with an abundance of f a n d details.19

In review, we cm mm frcaa evidence which these re-

vivals present that those plays which failed in their

original presentation repeated the failure when revived.

To assume thst 0*Me ill's compulsive seal for experimentation,

and thereby the new stagecraft, no* responsible for this

would be assigning a great deal. Optimistically m cm

assume tbit Eugene O'Metll played a «aJor purt in the (

|»<f e et'W'Mnwt of tW# ocv stagacraft •

Today we have a great 4 *1 fro® a»«ypanp-i

of Eugene O'Heill* Meny of the pxdblmm which confronted

him mm no longer problems in the modern theatre. It would

be overs itapl ifying iaatter» to say that had he not attempted

experimentation we might still be struggling

many barriers in theai&ri&al presentation * It would be more

advantageous to bypass O'Heiil** problems, failures, and

*%ew York Times. January 11, 1963, Sec. 5* p« 6.

mi

shortcomings, and mm that this man brought American theatre

beyond the restriction* of a representtational drama and

opened the door t® a f m r , deeper, and broader m u of

theatrical production. His work has given £0 posterity

• better stage which provide# an ample tool for the pre*

Mat»tion» of Mm fi idea# through the dramatic art.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

A»$*try* Charles Echwrd, Landmarks |n Moton Ififi&i Ibsen to Ionasco, Boston, Houghton Hifflte Company, 1963.

Botfly Gsomm11* Hgt Coree of the Mistee&Pfcten, Bur York, MoGr*«r»Hlll Book Coapany, Inc., 1959.

Istmii Jaim Mason, Dramatis Eersoiiae. Sew York, The Viking Fviii, 1963*

Carpenter, frwterie Ives, Emseae 0'Belli. Hew York, Tweyne Publishers, 1964*

Carter, Ifcmtley, Theatre o£ H§& Reinhardt. New York, Benjamin BlowTtnc., 1914.

Cheney, Sheldon, ggg. Movement J& Theatre, Hew York, M# Kennerley, 1914*

« The Art Theatre. 8<w York, A. A. »»#:£, 1915*

. The Tbaatn, Hew York, Longpsans, Gram, & Co., i5sn

CtalR, Edwud Gordon, Hawtt gg| tSSBU L o n d < m. lift H t W B Bookshop. 1921,

Deutch, Helen, U a Province town. Hew York, Farrar & Rinehart, Inn•} 1932•

Brutal • Edwin A.. lb. Hauntad Horoaa of a i i m O W l l . Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University t*®»i, 1953.

Gassner, John, Eugene O'lteill* Minneapolis, University of Minnesota r m i , 1965.

, Treasttrv gf Tha Theatre. Sew York, Simon & Shuster,1951

95

Celb, Arthur and Birbira, O'tfeill, Heir York, Harper & Brothers, If62*

Gorellk, Mordecai, ffiBSEE U t 2M» »«• York, 1* p. ' Duttoa & Co«» 1902*

Hartnoll, Phyllis, Hg> M M $&$L StaSBU London, Oxford Itaiversity Pmi, 1951*

Hughes, Glenn, 4 History f| the American theatre* Mm York, Thittn Arts, Inc*, 1925*

Hacgowan, Kenneth, J|g© Theatre of Tomorrow. New York, Semi M i Liverlghfc, 1921#

Macgowan, Kenneth md William Mainit*, The Living Stase. Englewood Cliffs, Hew Jersey, Prentiee-iliuInc., 1955.

Miller, Jordan Y*, Eugene O'Neill and the American Critic* London, Archon Books, 1962*

(o'Neill, Eugene, Sine flays, edited by Joseph Hood Krutch, New York, Eandoni House, 1952*

Phelp*. VUli** Lyon, TwmtUth Croturr IbwtCT. H«r Tozfc, Ylse Macmillan Go», 1920*

Roberta, Verm Howry, g& Stage, New York, Harper & low, 1962,

Sswsll, John Ives, 4 Hlatory of Western Art. New York, Holt, Rlnehart and Vistton, 19617

Shipley, Joseph, gg, toyae O'Neill* Seattle, University Washington look Store, 1928.

Articles

XLXX (June 17, 1937), 65*68*

Blackburn, Clara, "Continental Influence# on Eugene 0,lleill,s Kxpressioeistic DSSMS," American Literature. XIII (Nay, 1941), 109-133.

Clurnan, Harold, "Thaatra," Nation. CLXXXIX (October 24, It St), 299-260 •

Churchill, Allan, "Portrait of a Nobel Friit Winner as * Bw*,M Esquire. XLVII (June, 1957), 98-101.

Lewie, ftoeopliiltiS, "The Great God Brown," Aasiirica. CXI (October 31, 1959), 139-140.

Nullatt, M»t)r B», ,l£t» Extraordinary Story of Sugene O'Heill,"

American mmzixrn* XCIV (November, 1921), 34*

fhelan, Kappo, Cocbhkii^I, XLVIII (April 30, 1948), 674.

Theatre Arts Monthly. XXII (February, 1938), 101*107.

Unpublished Materials Black* Robert, "Robert Mrfmmtd Jones," unpublished doctoral

divert*tiara, Department of Drana, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 1955.

newspapers

New York Tlwes. Septenber 30, 1962.

Hew York January 11, 1963.

New York #*

1 H June 27, 1963.

97